Post Office Horizon Compensation Scheme

Lord Polak Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Polak (Con)]

My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Beamish, not only for securing this debate but for all that he has done. I pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Arbuthnot. I guess that, in modern parlance, they are both superheroes.

This is not a matter of financial redress; it is, as we have heard, about the lives of real people who have suffered through the failures of a system that has wronged them for far too long. I wish to highlight one such person, whom I have mentioned many times in this House, albeit from the other side: Rita Threlfall, a 70 year-old woman who, alongside her family, has endured an unimaginable amount of stress, uncertainty and financial strain as a result of this scandal. Rita’s story is one of far too many, but I share it with noble Lords today because of the specific personal emotional toll it has had on her life.

Rita and her husband, Kevin, ran their business together in my hometown of Liverpool. I am northern too, but from the north-west, not the north-east. For many years, their post office was more than just a livelihood; it was their life, their future and their pension. This future was cruelly taken away from them. Rita’s claim for compensation was submitted two months ago, in January 2025. She was expecting an offer within the 40 working days stipulated, but that deadline is fast approaching—in fact, tomorrow marks the expiration of this deadline. To date, she has received no offer and has heard nothing further, aside from a request for additional information about her husband Kevin’s earnings—a query that has only added further stress to an already harrowing situation. Rita’s claim includes loss of earnings for her husband, as he worked in the post office alongside her, and she remains perplexed by the request. She paid her husband a salary for his work in the business, but the authorities continue to ask for further documentation—a process that Rita and Kevin have found incredibly painful.

Rita has been waiting for 15 years since she was first wrongly convicted in 2010. Despite the repeated assurances that the claims process would be expedited, she remains in the dark about the timeline for resolution. For her, and countless others in a similar position, this has been a crippling experience. Her emotional and financial struggles have only deepened over the years. Rita became a pensioner four years ago, yet she is now living off a state pension which is simply not enough to cover her living expenses, let alone the debts she incurred in the loss of her business. Rita and her family are struggling to make ends meet. As a businesswoman, she had always planned that her business would provide financial security in her retirement. Since the scandal took it all away, she has been unable to invest in her pension or secure a proper future for herself and her husband. Although her two children are doing their best to support their parents, they are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the pressure of daily living costs.

Rita’s anxiety and stress levels have soared, while her weight has plummeted, as a result of this prolonged ordeal. Her health, physical and mental, has suffered immensely. During our conversation this week, she shared with me that she feels overwhelmed by the uncertainty of it all, constantly wondering how much longer she must wait and what the outcome will be when it finally arrives. The emotional toll is staggering. For years, she has lived in fear of her future, unable to plan for anything and uncertain about whether she will ever receive the compensation she so desperately needs and deserves.

When I talked to Rita earlier this week, her distress was palpable. She spoke about her 70th birthday celebration in January, an event that, for a moment, allowed her to reflect on happier times. Rita and Kevin had to leave their home in Liverpool due to their financial struggles, and they now live in Stoke-on-Trent. For the occasion of her 70th birthday, all her family, including the youngest member, a six month-old, gathered at the local cricket club to celebrate with her. It was a rare moment of joy amid long years of pain. Yet even in that moment of happiness, Rita could not escape the overwhelming sadness of what had been lost, including her proximity to her family, her post office, her livelihood, her future and her dignity—they have all been taken from her, and the compensation she so desperately needs is still pending.

As of now, Rita has received nothing since the interim payment in December 2022, which, as we know, did not begin to cover the damages caused by the closure of her business. Rita remains in limbo, waiting.

This is why I urge the Government to act swiftly and decisively. This is not about statistics or balance sheets; it is about real people, whose lives have been shattered. Behind every claim is a person like Rita, who has endured unimaginable hardship, financial ruin and emotional turmoil. Rita, like so many others, has suffered more than enough. She deserves justice. She deserves compensation and she deserves it now. Every day that passes without resolution prolongs the suffering for those who have already lost so much. We cannot and should not allow bureaucracy and delays to stand in the way of what is right.

Given Fujitsu’s acknowledged role and its stated moral obligation to contribute to compensation, can the Minister explain why the substantial contracts that have been talked of today remain in place? Why were many of them awarded after 2019? What assurances can the Government provide that no further public money will be awarded to Fujitsu unless it has fully met its financial obligations to the victims of this devastating miscarriage of justice? Can the Minister also confirm that employees and suppliers are paid monthly and regularly by Fujitsu, in stark contrast to Rita and her colleagues who, rather than being paid, are being humiliated?

The Government must provide clear and transparent communication to claimants about process, ensuring that they know what to expect and how long they will have to wait. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Beamish, when he suggested £300 million from Fujitsu—I think that was upped by my noble friend Lord Arbuthnot. I argue that it should pay exactly as much as the taxpayer has. It is a lot of money, but it should be paid.

I would also like the Government to do more to support those who are struggling with the emotional and financial strain of this scandal and provide them with the tools and resources that they need to move their lives forward. As I said at the beginning, this is not just about money; it is about rebuilding lives that have been torn apart. At 70 years old, Rita should be enjoying retirement with her family, yet instead she finds herself battling anxiety, financial hardship and the lingering effects of a fight that she should never have had to endure. Her family is doing all it can, but why should it have to? Why should any victim of this scandal have to rely on loved ones to survive, when it was the failures of others that put them in this position?

The Government must step up with not just words and sympathy but concrete measures that provide real, immediate relief for the victims. Rita and countless others like her have been waiting far too long for justice. I stand here today not as a Member of this House but as a human being imploring the Government to take immediate action to right this wrong. We cannot continue to allow these victims to suffer. We must act and we must act now.