Post Office computer scandal: Interim compensation payouts for those wrongfully accused

• Video report by ITV Meridian's Mary Stanley

The Government is to fund interim compensation of up to £100,000 for each postmaster who has had their conviction overturned in the scandal over the Horizon computer system.

Ministers said the move will ensure that those affected are not left out of pocket as they and the Post Office work toward full settlements for the "immense hardship" they have faced.

57 sub postmasters have had their convictions overturned at the Court of Appeal, but hundreds more are hoping for similar decisions.

Jo Hamilton was a sub-postmistress in South Warnborough, when £36,000 went missing from the accounts.

In order to avoid jail, she was advised to plead guilty to false accounting. She has spent years trying to clear her name.

Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of other people were sacked or prosecuted after money appeared to vanish from accounts at their branches. Some were imprisoned

The problems were caused by the Horizon computer system in Post Office branches which turned out to be flawed.

The Post Office is contacting postmasters and will aim to make an offer for an interim payment within 28 days of receiving an application from those whose overturned convictions relied on Horizon evidence.