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UKGI00049059
Finsbury Dials
20 Finsbury Street
London
EC2Y 9AQ
22 April 2022
Dear Minister
Resolving the Historical Matters, and Closure for Affected Postmasters
Three years have now passed since the Honourable Mr Justice Fraser published his findings in
the Horizon Issues Judgement. A considerable amount has been achieved in that time, in an effort
to bring closure to the thousands of postmasters whose lives have been affected or ruined by
losses or shortfalls that arose as a consequence of the Horizon IT system. Post Office is rightly
following the process that BEIS and UKGI have asked us to take on however, as you are aware,
in some areas the pace of progress has been slower than many of us wanted and costs have been
higher.
April 23 marks the one year anniversary of the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn 39
convictions in what has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK
history. Given that no final compensation has been paid after a year, I wanted to take this
opportunity to set out some of my observations on the past twelve months and my concerns for
what the future may hold. I also want to use this letter to ask for your intervention in a number of
areas where I am seeing risks to a comprehensive and timely resolution starting to emerge. I know
you can provide the direction and guidance your officials need here and that you can make a very
tangible impact in the outcomes we are able to deliver.
Over the past year we have struggled to make demonstrable progress on the Overturned
Historical Convictions. There are now 73 upheld appeals out of a potential population of 706
convictions and of the two pilot cases that have been brought forward by Hudgell Solicitors we
remain some distance apart on reaching an agreement. More worryingly our lawyers have not
been given a clear negotiating mandate by your Department to reach agreement or the agency
they would usually have in these circumstances, and this is causing the applicants’ lawyers to
become exasperated by the irregular approach they are seeing from Post Office. This situation is
not sustainable if the current process is going to have any real chance of success; I cannot see a
way for us to make faster progress with the hesitant approach being taken by your Department
and the behaviours we are seeing, which are not conducive to delivering the outcomes I believe
you want. Most significantly I am increasingly concerned that this current approach is moving us
towards litigation, which Post Office is very keen to avoid.
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540.
Registered Office: Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ.
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited. postoffice.co.uk
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I understand this is difficult for BEIS on many fronts and that your officials want to know what
settlement a court would reach were these claims litigated, to make sure any final offer represents
value for money. However this is now preventing BEIS from giving Post Office and our lawyers
clear negotiating parameters. Without going to court such counterfactuals are difficult to prove,
and to date BEIS has been unwilling to accept the opinion of POL’s legal counsel on the matter. A
new ‘Early Neutral Evaluation’ process has been proposed which seeks to resolve the current
impasse, however this is likely to take months to produce an outcome, it may not provide the clarity
BEIS is seeking and we expect the delay will frustrate postmasters’ solicitors further. We are at
risk of losing the trust we have worked hard to rebuild and while these delays persist, no
postmasters will get closure.
The offers made to the first pilot cases will set a precedent for how much is paid to the other 71
upheld appeals. This will also affect the number of convicted postmasters who seek to have their
convictions overturned, so I know BEIS will want to be comfortable on these settlements. These
first cases will however always be difficult, regardless of the time taken over them, and if you are
able to embolden your officials to be more decisive I am certain we can break the current deadlock
and make progress quickly. I also encourage you to help clear the way for Post Office’s lawyers
to be empowered to do the job they are paid for. While I recognise there is some scepticism among
BEIS and UKGI regarding Post Office’s lawyers we cannot deny they have built their careers doing
precisely this type of work, often in more complex circumstances, and in light of this I firmly believe
we should listen to their advice. We are being counselled how to reach a timely and comprehensive
resolution at a level that represents value to the taxpayer, not necessarily to deliver that resolution
at the lowest possible cost, which could be considered short-sighted. As you know value for money
is about efficiency and effectiveness, as much as it is about economy. Such an approach may also
cause us to lose hard-won trust and risks litigation, and our strong preference is to be commended
for the successes we deliver rather than be held to account for failures to deliver, for affected
postmasters.
In parallel with the discussions on Overturned Historical Convictions, over the past year we have
made good progress on the Historical Shortfall Scheme. At the end of March 2022 not only had
we had extended offers to more than 50% of claimants but we were also on course to meet our
public commitment to get offers out to more than 95% of applicants by the end of December 2022.
Offers are not the same as settlements though, which is how success will be measured, and I am
starting to see potential challenges emerge here. Your support to maintain the momentum we
have worked hard to establish will be valued highly.
Moving forward the claims we will be dealing with will become more complex and reaching
individual settlements will be harder. Fewer first offers will be accepted, more applicants will look
to appeal and we expect more will also need to be mediated. I am concerned that as currently
operated, the Historical Shortfall Scheme will not deliver the progress that we will want to look
back on in twelve months’ time. The past year — including our experience with the Overturned
Historical Convictions — has shown us that decisions are not made quickly and that the oversight
sought by BEIS and UKGI results in Post Office and its lawyers being disempowered, and these
issues will need to be remedied if we are to avoid the risk of a gulf emerging between the offers
we make and the number of settlements we reach. On behalf of Post Office’s team I am asking
that you keep a close eye on the number of settlements reached, alongside the offers we make,
and that you also step in if we see the risks outlined above start to crystallise.
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540.
Registered Office: Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ.
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited. postoffice.co.uk
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I have sympathy for BEIS. The Historical Shortfall Scheme is unprecedented, complicated and
high profile, which means making the right decisions is important. The Department also needs to
demonstrate to HM Treasury that it has appropriate oversight in place and that it is delivering value
for money. I also recognise BEIS’s concerns that decisions taken today may set precedents for
the future, and that this could have cost implications.
At the same time it is not acceptable that we are currently spending more to run the Historical
Shortfall Scheme than we are paying out, and that over the life of the Scheme we are forecasting
to spend almost 50% of the value of settlements on administration. Post Office is looking at ways
to reduce these costs and streamline processes, and both BEIS and UKGI are engaged in these
discussions and will need to support any of the proposed solutions. However the big opportunity
will be found in BEIS and UKGI taking faster decisions, delegating more often to Post Office and
its lawyers and, in making value-based decisions, looking at value for money holistically and taking
into account the total cost to the Exchequer, Post Office included.
Post Office is also keen to see BEIS make progress in reaching agreement with the GLO litigants,
who in March you announced would now receive full compensation. I am conscious that we are
being kept at a distance from these discussions, arguably quite rightly given the lack of trust this
group will have in Post Office, however I wanted to extend Post Offices’ support to you in case this
is useful. We have learned many lessons from our experiences with the Historical Shortfall Scheme
and you may find our input helpful in what you design and how you choose to administer it. Keeping
Post Office at arms-length could be a missed opportunity.
With no settlements reached yet with the Overturned Historical Convictions and more than 1125
offers still to make under the Historical Shortfall Scheme we have a long road ahead of us to deliver
closure for the thousands of postmasters affected by the Horizon IT system. Progress is being
made but like me, I know you want to see more happen faster, and with your involvement in the
areas I have highlighted I know we can deliver better outcomes. I would welcome the opportunity
to talk to you directly on these points with Nick Read, and agree a practical way forward.
I am very conscious BEIS has to follow due process when disbursing taxpayers’ funds and that
you and your Department will be held accountable by HM Treasury but also by Parliament for how
you spend this money. The same rules apply to Post Office, so in making these requests I am not
asking for any special dispensations. We have a shared intent and common challenges, and I want
to see us deliver the right outcome in the most expeditious and cost effective way.
lam copying this letter to the Permanent Secretary.
Yours sincerely
Tim Parker
CHAIR, POST OFFICE LIMITED
Post Office Limited is registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 2154540.
Registered Office: Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ.
Post Office and the Post Office logo are registered trade marks of Post Office Limited. postoffice.co.uk