More than 140 Scottish Post Office scandal victims could have convictions quashed

More than 140 Scottish victims of the Post Office’s Horizon scandal could have their convictions quashed, with only two people written to by justice secretary Angela Constance so far.

The number of cases in Scotland is thought to be more than previously believed, after the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission first wrote to more than 70 potential victims in 2020.

The Scottish Government has introduced new legislation and identified 141 people who could be eligible for exoneration, reports the Daily Record.

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However, the BBC reports Angela Constance has only confirmed two convictions have been overturned. The Scottish Government said it should have contacted the majority of people eligible within the next two months.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “The Scottish Government is clear that anyone wrongly convicted as a result of the defective Horizon IT system should have their conviction quashed, and as a result be entitled to UK government compensation.

“Since the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 was passed, the Scottish Government has identified 141 cases that could be eligible. This is a very complex process involving several partner agencies and the handling of sensitive personal information and data.

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“With the necessary procedures now in place, the Scottish government has started to inform individuals and expect within the next two months to confirm with the majority of eligible people that they have had their convictions quashed.

“Those who do not receive a letter, and believe that they are eligible for compensation, can register for the UK Government’s scheme.”

The false convictions occurred due to a faulty IT system, Horizon, used by the Post Office and led to hundreds of sub-postmasters across the UK being wrongly accused of crimes such as theft or fraud.

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More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted, including up to 100 in Scotland, for theft and false accounting between 2000 and 2014 as a result of shortfalls flagged by Horizon.

Eight people have already been cleared through the Scottish courts.

The Record reported earlier this year on the former Isle of Gigha postmistress Aleid Kloosterhuis’ decade-old conviction being quashed at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh after a judge ruled she had suffered a miscarriage of justice.