Sir Alan Bates has urged victims of the Horizon scandal to take the Government to court over delays to financial redress.
In an email sent to members of campaign group Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA), seen by the PA news agency, Sir Alan said a judicial review would “probably be the quickest way to ensure fairness for all”.
He told the group it would likely take until November 2027 for all claims to be completed.
More than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts.
Many are still awaiting compensation despite the previous government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.
Sir Alan told JFSA members it was “time for others to step up”, adding: “Hopefully you’ll all agree I’ve done my bit.”
Christopher Head, who became the Britain’s youngest subpostmaster in 2006 at the age of 18, offered his assistance in taking the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to court because he had already aired his case “out in public on purpose to be transparent”.
In his “JFSA Circular”, Sir Alan described the group litigation order (GLO) scheme, which was set up to achieve redress for the 555 claimants who took the Post Office to the High Court between 2017 and 2019, as a “mess”.
In his email, Sir Alan said: “There may be other options but the one which is repeatedly mentioned is a judicial review, not just for the GLO scheme but to include all of the schemes to ensure there is parity in the way victims have, and are, being treated.
“Returning to the courts may seem to be a long haul, but it will probably be (the) quickest way to ensure fairness for all.”
His email added: “I do know many of you who have already settled have done so out of desperation or despair or because you have been backed into a corner to accept an offer.
“Well a new legal action may well be a way of having your claim reassessed once more, this time by the courts.”
Referring to the GLO scheme, Sir Alan said: “Quite simply the scheme is a mess, and has been almost since the time of its inception.
“Advice on how to streamline and speed up the scheme which has been offered to the DBT by ourselves, your lawyers and even the DBT select committee is ignored out of hand with the feeblest of excuses.
“And unfortunately it does seem that the GLO scheme is not the only scheme in dire straits, it seems all the financial redress schemes are being similarly affected by common failures with their administration and application.”
His email also said a national fundraising campaign may be needed to cover any potential legal costs.
A Government spokesman said: “We pay tribute to all the postmasters who have suffered due to the Horizon software over the past 25 years and are continuing to work at pace to ensure all postmasters receive the financial redress and justice they deserve.
“However, we do not accept this forecast.
“The facts show we are making almost 90% of initial GLO offers within 40 working days of receiving completed claims. As of 31 March, 76% of the group had received full and final redress, or 80% of their offer.
“So long as claimants respond reasonably promptly, we would expect to settle all claims by the end of this year.
“We have trebled the number of payments under this Government and are settling claims at a faster rate than ever before to provide full and fair redress.”
