The government has announced the closing date for the financial redress scheme for subpostmasters who were part of the successful High Court action against the Post Office.
From the end of July, the scheme will be closed to new applications, with the government aiming to end the scheme by 31 December.
The Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme was for subpostmasters that won the landmark case against the Post Office in 2019, which proved that errors in the computer system they used in branches cause account discrepancies they were blamed for. These were members of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA).
Read: Post Office Horizon scandal explained: Everything you need to know
Post Office minister Blair McDougall said: “The postmasters in the GLO group were the first to lead the charge for justice, and they deserve to see this chapter closed with the full and fair redress they are owed.
“Setting these deadlines is about making sure that happens. We are 90% of the way there, and I am determined that the remaining claims are resolved quickly and fairly, with proper support for anyone who needs it.”
The Department of Business and Trade said: “Since the summer of 2024, the government has paid out more than £1.5bn in redress to over 12,000 claimants affected by the Horizon scandal – more than six times the amount paid before then.”
But despite the government’s egotism, Sir Alan Bates, who set up the JFSA and led the subpostmasters to the GLO, said the redress scheme has been hard-fought for by victims. Speaking about the government, he said: “They make all these platitudes, don’t they? All this nonsense, but at the end of the day, you know, it’s the victims that don’t seem to be coming first, regardless of what they say.”
He said many recipients are not happy about what they received: “It has been a very much a take-it-or-lump-it sort of approach from government. It was a continual battle right through to the very end.”
