Post Office Horizon Compensation Scheme

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have contributed to this debate and the noble Lord, Lord Beamish, for securing it. I greatly enjoyed hearing the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Elliott, and very much look forward to hearing her contributions on standing up for the north. We have an opportunity to create a genuine northern powerhouse, and it would be brilliant to achieve that. It was also extremely interesting to hear the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Barber—from Ghana, ACAS, TfL, Everton Football Club and Mountview Academy to the TUC, bringing together more than 5.5 million working people. He said that he is looking forward to learning from his noble friends, but I think your Lordships’ House is equally looking forward to hearing from him.

It would be remiss of me not pay a special tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Arbuthnot, and, rather than my words, please let me quote from some of the many articles that highlight his amazing contribution which resulted in justice for postmasters.

“One of the figures who comes out of the Post Office scandal with universal and unequivocal praise is Lord Arbuthnot”.


“His actions, with purpose and forethought, that he stuck with through the process, show the instinct and intelligence to approach this carefully and allow all sides the opportunity to show their character before committing to the cause with fire and brimstone”.


We should all be incredibly grateful that both he and the noble Lord, Lord Beamish, did commit to the cause with fire and brimstone, because this was, unfortunately, one of the gravest miscarriages of justice in recent times. A scandal that saw honest, hard-working individuals—our local postmasters—wrongly accused, prosecuted and, in some cases, driven to financial ruin. Depression, prison time, moving country and attempted suicide: these are just some of the tales told by the victims of the scandal.

The Post Office is a pillar of our communities and has long been a trusted institution, but, between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of postmasters faced devastating consequences due to the faults in the Horizon IT system, supplied by International Computers Ltd, which was later fully incorporated into Fujitsu. These errors falsely suggested financial shortfalls, leading to suspensions, wrongful prosecutions and untold suffering. So my first question to the Minister is: what measures will His Majesty’s Government implement to prevent such a miscarriage of justice from occurring again?

The Government have indeed acknowledged this injustice and have worked to provide compensation, with the Post Office (Horizon System) Compensation Bill being introduced to ensure that victims receive full and fair redress. As of 31 January 2025, approximately £663 million has been paid across multiple schemes, which is part of a total £1.8 billion set aside for compensation costs. But, despite these efforts, we must ask: is justice being delivered swiftly enough?

The noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, and my noble friend Lord Polak mentioned legal complexity and speed of claims. The Business and Trade Select Committee recently raised serious concerns about the pace and complexity of the compensation process. While payments have increased, delays persist. The committee’s report describes the process as akin to a “second trial” for victims. Postmasters should not have to navigate an overly bureaucratic system to receive what is rightfully theirs after what they have already been put through. The committee has stated that while redress schemes are moving faster, they are still “not fast enough”. So we have to ask the Minister: what specific measures can be taken to accelerate these compensation payments?

The recommendations put forth by the committee must also be seriously considered. We must remove the Post Office from administering any redress schemes, we must offer upfront legal advice to claimants and we must introduce strict timelines to expedite claims. Furthermore, His Majesty’s Official Opposition believe that an independent adjudicator should oversee the process to ensure fairness, with legal costs being scrutinised to prevent further exploitation of the victims.

As mentioned by the noble Lords, Lord Beamish, Lord Arbuthnot, Lord Hastings, and Lord Polak, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Elliott and Lady Brinton, Fujitsu cannot evade accountability. The company must take financial responsibility for its role in this disaster. As the inquiry nears its conclusion, it is imperative that Fujitsu contributes meaningfully to the compensation efforts. Justice demands nothing less. The National Federation of SubPostmasters has raised concerns that progress on addressing the scandal has only been expedited due to public scrutiny and the ongoing inquiry. The NFSP has questioned what will happen once the inquiry concludes, particularly regarding Fujitsu’s contribution to compensation. It has suggested that Fujitsu may be delaying action in the hope of minimizing its culpability and avoiding public scrutiny over its financial responsibility. As the inquiry nears its conclusion, it is imperative that the company contributes meaningfully to the compensation efforts, so we need to ask: what conversations are His Majesty’s Government having with the board of directors at Fujitsu?

It is not just financial compensation that must be addressed, as was mentioned by my noble friend Lord Polak. The emotional wrecking of lives caused by this travesty must also be looked at, so we would like to know how His Majesty’s Government will support affected postmasters beyond financial compensation to help them rebuild their lives. Achieving justice for the victims of this scandal and ensuring that such a tragedy can never happen again must be the Government’s priority. When we talk about compensation, we have to remember that the lives of the postmasters and their families caught up in this scandal have been changed for ever. They have faced financial ruin, untold personal distress and a loss of reputation that no amount of financial compensation can ever fully restore. It is of paramount importance that we recognise our clear moral duty to right those wrongs to the best of our ability. His Majesty’s Government must set out a plan for how they will notify eligible postmasters of compensation. What steps will they take to ensure that all affected individuals are reached?

Finally, please allow me to quote my noble friend Lady Fookes, a hugely respected veteran of both the other place and your Lordships’ House, who spoke with such great authority when she challenged His Majesty’s Government on a similar topic. The same applies here for all of the postmasters who deserve compensation:

“The government machine needs to get more of a move on than it usually does in these matters. Will my noble friend take as his motto a cry often heard in the streets: ‘When do we want it? We want it now’”.—[Official Report, 18/5/23; col. 368.]