More than £1 billion has now been paid out to victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, marking a significant milestone in the ongoing effort to deliver justice to thousands of wronged sub-postmasters.
The government confirmed that, as of 2 June, a total of £1.039 billion had been awarded to just over 7,300 individualsthrough a series of compensation schemes. However, despite the growing payouts, campaigners say many victims are still navigating a slow and often complex path to full redress.
Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said the government was continuing to speed up payments, particularly in the most complex cases: “We are settling cases every day and getting compensation out more quickly for the most complex cases,” he said. “But the job isn’t done until every postmaster has received fair and just redress.”
The figures span four separate compensation schemes, each designed to cater to victims in different circumstances, reflecting the varying legal and personal consequences experienced by those affected.
The most high-profile group of victims includes the 555 sub-postmasters who led a landmark court case against the Post Office, spearheaded by Alan Bates, whose campaign was brought to national attention through a widely watched ITV drama earlier this year.
Although the group secured a £42.5 million settlement in 2019, most saw only a fraction of that payout due to the high legal costs of taking the case to court. In response, the government established the Group Litigation Order (GLO) Scheme to provide additional compensation. So far, £167 million has been paid through this scheme, including interim payments.
However, 63 members of the GLO group had criminal convictions, rendering them ineligible for the GLO compensation. They may instead be entitled to compensation through one of two schemes for those who had their convictions overturned.
The Overturned Convictions Scheme is open to anyone whose conviction has been quashed by the courts. This includes individuals both inside and outside the GLO group. It is now directly overseen by the government, which has so far paid out £68 million under this route.
Meanwhile, the newly created Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme caters to those whose convictions were overturned en masse under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024, which came into force in May. These individuals can choose to receive a fast-tracked £600,000 settlement or enter into negotiations if they believe they are owed more. All are eligible for interim payments while final amounts are calculated. This scheme has delivered £245 million to date.
A fourth scheme, the Historic Shortfall Scheme, continues to offer compensation to sub-postmasters who repaid money that was never actually missing, due to errors caused by the Horizon software. Although the government did not break out updated figures for this scheme, it remains a significant component of the overall total.
The Horizon IT scandal is widely regarded as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were accused—and many convicted—of theft, fraud, and false accounting, based on faulty data generated by the Horizon computer system.
To date, 992 convictions have been linked to the system, of which around 700 were brought privately by the Post Office. Many of those affected lost their businesses, homes, and in some cases, their liberty.
While compensation efforts have accelerated in recent months under government supervision, victims and campaigners have raised concerns about bureaucratic delays and the complexity of the claims process. Some have criticised the existence of multiple overlapping schemes, which they say can be confusing and intimidating for claimants.
However, officials maintain that tailored approaches are necessary to reflect the legal and financial differences among affected individuals.
Despite surpassing the £1 billion compensation mark, ministers have acknowledged that many victims are still waiting. The government has pledged to continue processing payments swiftly and to ensure all those entitled to compensation receive what they are owed.
With redress still ongoing and public scrutiny intensifying, the legacy of the Horizon scandal is far from resolved. For many former sub-postmasters, the compensation offers some measure of justice—but for many, it will never fully make up for what was lost.
