Sir Alan Bates is leading calls for a “fresh start” on Post Office compensation amid continued complaints of delays and “inappropriate” staff handling claims.
The i Paper can reveal that as recently as this month the Post Office was still identifying individuals working in its remediation unit with “past roles” connected to the Horizon scandal which led to more than 900 sub-postmasters being wrongly convicted.
Peter Verrechia, a former sub-postmaster who lost £16,000, his home and his marriage, has identified at least five individuals whom he believes should not be working in the unit due to their employment history at the Post Office.
The Government relies on the remediation unit to provide employment details and data in order to then settle compensation.
“The culture at the Post Office seems to be the same as it was. Their reaction is ‘no comment and don’t do anything about it’ – that’s exactly the culture when they were covering up Horizon,” he said.
“It’s frustrating that they don’t recognise the issue.”
Christopher Hodges, chair of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, recently wrote to the Post Office telling them victims continue to find the issue “deeply distressing and inappropriate”.
Amid the the delays and issues with the remediation unit, Sir Alan Bates has warned that the Government should not lead the compensation scheme and should instead be an independent body.
The Post Office said while it cannot comment on “individual employment matters” there are three individuals who will be leaving the business “at the earliest opportunity”.
Steve Marston, centre, and other former sub-postmasters meeting government officials about the Capture scandal (Photo: Tom Pilston/The i Paper)
It comes as the Government is set to open a new compensation scheme for Post Office victims who used Capture, a piece of software rolled out to branches in the 90s, this autumn.
Bates said he did not want Capture victims to suffer the same experience as Horizon users who have been waiting years for compensation having received offers well below what they should be entitled to.
“Unless there’s fresh thinking they are going to finish up [the same],” he told The i Paper.
“There’s got to be a better way, not just for this scheme but for all compensation schemes, regardless of whether it’s the Post Office or anything else.
“I don’t think the Government are the right people [to be in charge].”
The Government has pledged to start accepting claims for compensation for Capture victims from an initial cohort of 150 sub-postmasters this autumn, with interim “recognition” payouts of £10,000.
The announcement of the Capture compensation scheme follows months of reporting by The i Paper on claims the system was faulty and caused sub-postmasters to experience shortfalls.
In a precursor to the Horizon scandal, they were forced to hand over money, sacked and in some cases criminally prosecuted by the Post Office.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is currently reviewing 29 convictions to decide whether they can be put before the Court of Appeal to be overturned.
Of the four compensation schemes set up for the Horizon scandal, all but one is now run by the Department for Business and Trade.
However, The i Paper understands the Government remains reliant on the Post Office to provide important information about former sub-postmasters such as their employment history and remuneration.
In an email sent by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to Capture campaigners on Friday, shared with The i Paper, officials confirmed the Post Office will “have a role to play” in the new compensation scheme “to provide all relevant information they hold”.
‘They need to learn from their mistakes’
Steve Marston does not want the Post Office to be involved in any capacity in his compensation claim(Photo: Tom Pilston)Steve Marston, 69, was convicted of theft and false accounting offences by the Post Office in 1998 over shortfalls at his branch in Heap Bridge, Greater Manchester.
He insists he never stole “a penny” and believes faults with the Capture system were to blame.
Mr Marston does not want the Post Office to be involved in any capacity in his compensation claim.
“We don’t want that to happen again, they need to learn from their mistakes,” he said.
“I think as far as I’m concerned the Post Office should have nothing to do with our claims.
“It needs to be someone external. They need to be seen to be totally scrupulous don’t they.
“It needs to be a fresh start. The Post Office can’t be trusted to get it right.”
Government ‘not learning’ from compensation problems
Christopher Head, a former sub-postmaster who was pursued over Horizon shortfalls and now supports fellow victims, told The i Paper the government is “not learning” from the problems with compensation.
“These problems [delays and battles over payouts] are still happening in the current system,” he said.
The Capture software was rolled out to Post Office branches starting in 1992“There’s still so much bureaucracy tied to everything. There’s so many questions still to come.
“What evidence do they [Capture victims] need to have?
“They are saying they will give postmasters the benefit of the doubt – they said the same for the GLO scheme [the 555 sub-postmasters who first sued the Post Office in 2019].
“The burden is still there, you’re still having to justify everything and they are still challenging everything.
“The Capture cases are even less likely to have evidence.”
The Department for Business and Trade has been contacted for comment.
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