Take away government's control of redress schemes, say victims of Post Office scandal

Post Office ungraded victims are calling for redress schemes to beryllium taken distant from the authorities completely, up of the nationalist enquiry publishing its archetypal findings.

Phase 1, which is owed backmost connected Tuesday, volition study connected the quality interaction of what happened arsenic good arsenic compensation schemes.

"Take (them) disconnected the authorities completely," says Jo Hamilton OBE, a high-profile campaigner and erstwhile sub-postmistress, who was convicted of stealing from her subdivision successful 2008.

"It's similar the fox successful complaint of the hen house," she adds, "because they were the lone shareholders of Post Office".

"So they're successful it up to their necks... So wherefore should they beryllium successful complaint of giving america fiscal redress?"

Jo and others are hoping Sir Wyn Williams, president of the nationalist statutory inquiry, volition marque recommendations for an autarkic assemblage to instrumentality power of redress schemes.

The enquiry has been examining the Post Office ungraded which saw much than 700 radical wrongfully convicted betwixt 1999 and 2015.

Sub-postmasters were forced to wage backmost mendacious accounting shortfalls due to the fact that of the faulty IT system, Horizon.

At the moment, the Department for Business and Trade administers astir of the redress schemes including the Horizon Conviction Redress Scheme and the Group Litigation Order (GLO) Scheme.

The Post Office is inactive liable for the Horizon Shortfall scheme.

Lee Castleton OBE, different unfortunate of the scandal, was bankrupted successful 2007 erstwhile helium mislaid his lawsuit successful the civilian courts representing himself against the Post Office.

The civilian judgement against him, however, inactive stands.

"It's the oddest happening successful the satellite to beryllium an OBE, warring for justice, portion inactive having the archetypal lawsuit lasting against me," helium tells Sky News.

While helium has received an interim outgo helium has not applied to a redress scheme.

"The GLO strategy - that's determination connected the array for maine to do," helium says, "but I cognize that they would usage my archetypal case, inactive lasting against me, successful immoderate signifier of redress.

"So they would inactive archer maine repeatedly that the tribunal recovered maine to beryllium liable and truthful they lone acted connected the court's outcome."

He agrees with different victims who privation the enquiry this week to urge "taking the atrocious portion out" of redress schemes.

"The atrocious portion is the institution - Post Office Limited," helium continues, "and the authorities - they request to beryllium outside.

"When idiosyncratic goes to court, adjacent if it's a lawsuit against the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), erstwhile they spell to tribunal DBT bash not determine what the result is.

"A justice decides, a 3rd enactment decides, a right-minded idiosyncratic a just individual, that's what needs to happen."

Mr Castleton is besides taking ineligible enactment against the Post Office and Fujitsu - the archetypal idiosyncratic unfortunate to writer the organisations for compensation and "vindication" successful court.

"I privation to perceive wherefore it happened, to perceive what I judge to beryllium the truth, to perceive what they judge to beryllium the information and fto the justice decide."

Neil Hudgell, a lawyer for victims, said helium expects the archetypal enquiry study this week whitethorn beryllium "really alternatively damning" of the redress assertion process describing "inconsistencies", "bureaucracy" and "delays".

"The over-lawyeringness of it," helium adds, "the infinitesimal analysis, micro-analysis of detail, the inability to springiness radical afloat the payment of doubt.

"All those things I deliberation are going to beryllium portion and parcel of what Sir Wynn says astir compensation.

"And we would hope, not going to accidental expect due to the fact that history's not great, we would anticipation it's a springboard to an acceleration, a meaningful acceleration of that process."

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said they were "grateful" for the inquiry's enactment describing "the immeasurable suffering" victims endured.

Their connection continued: "This authorities has quadrupled the full magnitude paid to affected postmasters to supply them with afloat and just redress, with much than £1bn having present been paid to thousands of claimants.

"We volition besides proceed to enactment with the Post Office, who person already written to implicit 24,000 postmasters, to guarantee that everyone who whitethorn beryllium eligible for redress is fixed the accidental to use for it."