A New Chapter of Injustice
It’s hard to believe, but even after winning legal battles and finally receiving public vindication, hundreds of Post Office scandal victims are now finding themselves locked in yet another painful struggle—this time for fair compensation. Once vilified as criminals due to a flawed computer system, these former sub-postmasters are now fighting government bureaucracy and administrative indifference. They aren’t asking for charity. They want what was promised: justice, in the form of timely and fair financial redress.
The Post Office Horizon IT scandal, already regarded as one of the UK’s worst miscarriages of justice, has been back in headlines after victims, including campaign leader Sir Alan Bates, revealed the shocking and humiliating treatment they’re enduring under the compensation process. Offers falling well short of losses, unexplained delays, and a cold, legalistic system have turned what should be a process of healing into another chapter of trauma.
What makes this worse? The public was led to believe that justice was finally being done. That Parliament, the courts, and society stood with the victims. But when the cameras stopped rolling, the process lost its humanity.
The Horizon IT Scandal: How It All Began
The Horizon IT system, launched by the Post Office in 1999 and developed by Fujitsu, was designed to handle transactions, accounts, and stock-taking at local branches. Instead, it became the root of an extraordinary scandal. Thousands of sub-postmasters reported accounting shortfalls they couldn’t explain. Rather than investigating the software, the Post Office pursued these individuals—many of them small business owners and community leaders—as criminals.
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 people were prosecuted based on flawed Horizon data. Lives were destroyed. Some victims were jailed. Others were driven into bankruptcy. Families broke apart. In the worst cases, individuals took their own lives, unable to bear the shame and pressure of false accusations.
It took years for the truth to surface. Whistleblowers, journalists, and legal teams fought tirelessly. Finally, in 2019, the High Court ruled that Horizon was “not remotely robust.” Sub-postmasters were exonerated. Apologies were issued. But as any victim will tell you—words are cheap. What mattered now was accountability and compensation.
Victims’ Long Battle for Recognition
Getting the convictions quashed was only the beginning. The victims’ pursuit of recognition, fairness, and justice took decades—years of being ignored, disbelieved, and left to fend for themselves. One name rose to the forefront of the campaign: Alan Bates.
A former sub-postmaster from North Wales, Bates founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA). He wasn’t content with personal justice—he fought for all victims. His tireless efforts exposed the Post Office’s culture of denial and secrecy. Bates pushed for public inquiries, held meetings with ministers, and became the public face of the fight for justice.
The ITV drama “Mr Bates vs The Post Office” brought national attention to the scandal in 2024, igniting a wave of public outrage. Suddenly, the story wasn’t just about arcane legalities—it was about people. About dignity. About righting a wrong that should never have happened.
That pressure resulted in government promises: full compensation. Fair compensation. Swift compensation. But here we are in 2025, and many of those promises remain unfulfilled.
Promises of Compensation: Hope on the Horizon?
After the High Court verdict in 2019, multiple compensation schemes were launched. Among them:
- The Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme – for the 555 claimants who led the legal charge.
- The Horizon Shortfall Scheme – for those not convicted but who suffered losses.
- The Overturned Convictions Scheme – for those whose wrongful convictions were quashed.
Each scheme was supposed to deliver justice tailored to victims’ experiences. The government announced that no victim would be left behind. Ministers stated the schemes would be “non-adversarial” and “compassionate.” That victims would not be re-traumatized.
But those words now feel like hollow promises to many. Compensation figures have fallen far below expectations. Some offers have covered less than half of the original claims. Others have dragged on for months or even years with no explanation.
The government also pledged that victims would not need to pay legal fees out of their compensation. Yet many have been forced to hire lawyers to navigate the convoluted processes—adding another layer of expense and delay to an already unjust ordeal.
The Disgraceful Delays: Why Are Victims Still Waiting?
Sir Alan Bates recently made headlines again when he revealed that he was offered just 49.2% of his compensation claim—presented as a “take it or leave it” deal. After everything he’s done for the movement, even he was treated like a litigant in a cold legal fight. “It’s not a scheme. It’s a quasi-kangaroo court,” Bates told reporters.
He’s not alone. Dozens of other victims have reported feeling pressured into accepting lowball offers. Many say the schemes feel punitive rather than restorative—more like a game of endurance than justice.
There’s also the question of who’s responsible. Government ministers blame civil service bottlenecks. Civil servants cite legal complexity. But for victims who’ve already waited two decades, such explanations are infuriating.
There’s a bitter irony here. The very system that falsely branded them criminals is now failing them again—this time under the guise of helping.
