Wrongly-accused UK post office managers to be exonerated under new law: PM

LONDON: The UK government will introduce new legislation to overturn the convictions of hundreds of post office managers who were wrongly convicted of theft and fraud, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.

During his weekly question time in the House of Commons, Sunak said on Wednesday that the new law will make sure the victims of "one of the greatest miscarriages of justice" in the country's history are "swiftly exonerated and compensated", reports Xinhua news agency.

The scandal involved at least 700 post office managers who faced prosecution by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015.

Many of them have spent years asserting their innocence, citing issues with a new accounting and stocktaking software program called Horizon, developed by a Japanese company.

Some of the managers served prison sentences after being convicted of false accounting and theft.

Many of them were financially ruined, and some committed suicide.

To date, fewer than 100 convictions have been overturned.

Sunak said on Wednesday that a new upfront payment of 75,000 pounds ($95,000) will be offered to a group of former postmasters who took their case against the Post Office to the High Court in 2019.

Business and Trade Minister Kevin Hollinrake said later that victims will sign a statement confirming they did not commit crimes, in order to have their convictions overturned and claim compensation.

Hollinrake said a statutory inquiry into the scandal was currently underway, and will conclude by the end of the year.

A television drama aired in the UK last week highlighted the incident in dramatic detail, causing outrage across the country.

Paula Vennells, former head of the Post Office, on Tuesday handed back a national honor after more than 1.2 million people signed a petition calling for her to be stripped of her title.