How much compensation will victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal get?

Under the current compensation deal, people who were wrongly convicted could get up to £600,000. But victims who were bankrupted in the scandal will only get a fraction of that, as ITV News' Chloe Keedy explains

The government has introduced legislation to exonerate all sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted in the Post Office Horizon scandal, but how will they be compensated?

Plans will overturn the convictions of over 900 people linked to the scandal, with more 4,000 being told they are eligible for compensation for their suffering.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said a new law would be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.

But the schemes needed to access compensation for the victims suffering differ massively in circumstances and how much money they will be paid.

Here, were break down how each of the schemes work and how much money people could expect to receive.

Group litigation claimants

When the scandal was first exposed, it was brought to the courts by 555 people claiming together.

The group jointly agreed a settlement with the Post Office in December 2019, which included a £57.75 million global payment as full and final redress.

Most of the settlement, around £46 million, was swallowed by claimants' funders and legal advisors.

The Group Litigation Order scheme was set up to ensure that claimants would receive extra compensation given the victims' situations.

However, every member of that 555 strong group, bar the 62 who were convicted in court, will be offered an upfront payment of £75,000.

Those who were convicted in court will be eligible for an ever larger payout.

Overturned convictions scheme

There were 983 sub-postmasters convicted of criminal offences between 1999 and 2015. Which works out at more than one a week.

Some 93 of whom have already been acquitted and the rest have now been told their convictions will be quashed at some point "later this year" - at which point the government says they will be eligible for a £600,000 payout.

Horizon shortfall scheme

There is one other scheme for people who weren't convicted or part of the civil court case.

They can apply for different amounts of compensation if they can provide proof what they lost and that Horizon was to blame.

So far, there have been 2,745 eligible claims.

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