New UK law will clear those wrongly convicted in Post Office Horizon scandal
Hundreds of people wrongly convicted in the UK Post Office scandal are set to have their names cleared under new legislation planned by the government, reports the BBC.
The law is expected to come into effect by the end of July and will apply to convictions in England and Wales.
It will apply to convictions meeting specific criteria and is expected to clear the majority of victims.
The government said the possible exoneration of some genuinely guilty of crimes was “a price worth paying”.
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted due to faulty software.
Incorrect information provided by a computer system called Horizon, developed by Japanese firm Fujitsu, meant that sub-postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted for stealing money.
Many of those convicted went to prison for false accounting and theft. Many were financially ruined.
Some sub-postmasters caught up in the scandal have died or taken their own lives in the intervening years. So far, 102 convictions have been overturned.
