The new Labour Government will lay out its plan for compensating subpostmasters affected by the Horizon scandal this month.
Business and trade minister Justin Madders said in the House of Commons on Thursday that the Government would be outlining this by the end of July.
He said: “We intend to work cross-party, we believe that there’s absolutely no reason why that should not continue, because we absolutely agree the importance of delivering fast and fair compensation is at the heart of what we are all trying to achieve here.
“We will be making a statement by the end of the July.”
Mr Madders said the statement would be made “by the end of summer recess”, but the Department for Business and Trade later confirmed that this was a slip of the tongue and he had meant to say “before summer recess starts”.
His comments came after the shadow business and trade minister, Kevin Hollinrake, asked an urgent question in the Commons requesting an update on the various schemes to compensate victims of the scandal.
These schemes include the overturned convictions scheme for those who had convictions quashed, the group litigation order (GLO) Scheme, which will provide a £75,000 top-up for 555 former subpostmasters who won their lawsuit but received relatively small payouts, and the Horizon shortfall scheme for subpostmasters affected by the scandal but not covered by these two schemes, who will also receive a £75,000 payment.
MPs told the Government that more needs to be done to hold to account all those responsible for the Horizon scandal, and to ensure that the culture in the Post Office changes.
Former Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden (Basildon and Billericay) said: “Compensation is one part of this, but also people like Betty, whom I met, who were victims of this scandal, what they really want to see is truth and accountability, not just for ministers but for those involved in the scandal.”
Liberal Democrat home affairs and justice spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said: “At the heart of the Horizon scandal, there was a culture which – at the centre of the organisation – failed to respect the work that was being done by subpostmasters at the front line.
“When will the minister and the Secretary of State meet with the chief executive of Post Office, what evidence have they seen that that culture has actually changed?”
Mr Madders said: “Justice is one side of the coin, but also accountability for what has happened here.
“Everyone has been absolutely outraged by the years of inertia and obfuscation that we have seen on this scandal.
“That is the purpose of the inquiry to get to the heart of who knew what, who did what, who didn’t do what they should have done, and whether individuals should take responsibility for their actions.
“I have no doubt, when those recommendations are released, we will want to be seeing some very swift action off the back of that.”
He added: “The current CEO has actually stepped aside for a brief period to concentrate on the inquiry, and I think that those questions – those very important questions that he (Mr Carmichael) raised will be things we will be reflecting on over the coming months – particularly when the outcome of the inquiry is known.”
He added that Post Office branch managers should not be the target of public “opprobrium” in the wake of the Horizon scandal and that people should use their services.
His remarks were made in response to Conservative former minister David Mundell, who said that some customers “in order to express their disgust at what has happened in relation to Horizon, are not using the Post Office in the way that they did previously”.
Mr Mundell said: “Will he and the Government commit to promote the view that the Post Office is safe to use, because the scandal has been resolved, and is good to use of the community?”
Mr Madders replied: “I am very concerned to hear of those incidents happening.
“I think it should go without saying that the postmasters are not the ones who should take the opprobrium of the public on this matter at all.
“They are doing a fantastic job, they hold communities together, they provide a public service and we should absolutely celebrate and encourage people to use their facilities as much as possible.”
