HOLYROOD has passed “unprecedented” legislation to exonerate subpostmasters in Scotland who were wrongly convicted as part of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Those whose convictions are quashed under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill will be able to access the UK Government financial redress scheme.
After the Scottish Parliament agreed to use its emergency procedure, the bill has been introduced and passed unopposed in just over two weeks to allow justice and redress to be delivered to victims as swiftly as possible in line with the UK bill, which did not cover sub-postmasters in Scotland.
Sub-postmasters who previously sought to appeal their convictions will also be exonerated, following a Scottish Government amendment to the bill.
Those convicted of “relevant offences” will have them automatically quashed on the day after the legislation is granted Royal Assent and those exonerated will then be able to access the UK Government financial redress scheme.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “I hope this bill goes some way to bring justice to innocent sub-postmasters who had their lives ruined by being wrongly convicted of offences of dishonesty on the basis of tainted evidence from the faulty Post Office Horizon system.
“As the UK Government’s legislation was not extended to cover Scotland, we have worked as quickly as possible to ensure parity for affected sub-postmasters here, who will also be able to access the UK Government’s compensation scheme.
“The unprecedented step of introducing legislation to right this terrible wrong was necessary to respond to the scale of the scandal and the length of time that victims have waited for justice.
“We will now be seeking Royal Assent for the bill as quickly as possible so affected sub-postmasters can have their convictions quashed and then access the compensation they deserve.”
Constance said for an offence to be considered “relevant”, the time it took place and the type of crime would be considered.
The person convicted would need to have been working in a Post Office at the time, and the conviction would need to be connected to Post Office business.
In addition, the Horizon system would have to have been in use by the Post Office where they were working at the time.
The UK Parliament has already passed similar legislation to clear the convictions of subpostmasters involved in the Horizon scandal, which has been described as the “greatest miscarriage of justice” in the legal system.
