as a result of the horizon scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated. and rishi sunak also announced a £75,000 up front payment to those postmasters who hadn t been convicted but who took legal action against the post office because their livelihoods had been affected. we will make sure that the truth comes to light, we right the wrongs and the victims get the justice they deserve. prosecutions took place notjust under a conservative government, but a coalition, which included the lib dems, and initially under labour. sir keir starmer welcomed today s announcement. people lost their lives, their liberty and their livelihood and they have been waiting far too long for the truth, forjustice, and for compensation, so i am glad the prime minister is putting forward a proposal. we will look at the details and think it is the job of all of us to make sure that it delivers the justice that is so needed. and yes, mps sought to blame westminster for the delay. the reality is, th
dominated the headlines for the past week. the prime minister has announced that new legislation will be brought in to make sure that those convicted in one of the biggest miscarriages ofjustice the uk has ever seen. who worked for the post office are swiftly exonerated and compensated. more than 700 sub postmasters received criminal convictions for fraud and false accounting, over a period of around 16 years, after it introduced a faulty it system. some went to prison and many were made bankrupt. we ll get reaction from one sub postmaster in a moment but first our political correspondent iain watson reports. the post office told us over and over, you re the only one. that was a lie, actually. itv made a drama out of a crisis, a scandal that started more than 20 years ago came to public and political prominence. fewer than 100 sub postmasters have had their wrongful convictions overturned and there s pressure to clear more names and pay out more compensation. the prime mini
development on a story which has dominated the headlines for the past week thanks to a tv drama. the prime minister has announced new legislation, to make sure that hundreds of post office branch managers convicted in one of the biggest miscarriages ofjustice the uk has ever seen are swiftly exonerated and compensated. more than 700 sub postmasters were given criminal convictions for fraud and false accounting over a period of around 16 years after it introduced a faulty it system. some went to prison. many were bankru pted. we ll get reaction from one sub postmaster in a moment but first our political correspondent iain watson reports. the post office told us over and over. you re the only one. that was a lie, actually, because. itv made a drama out of a crisis, a scandal that started more than 20 years ago came to public and political prominence. fewer than 100 sub postmasters have had their wrongful convictions overturned and there s pressure to clear more names and pa
of the league cup. if liverpool win the trophy, it would be for a record tenth time. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. in the last hour, the prime minister has announced that new legislation will be brought in to make sure that those convicted in the post office it scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated. rishi sunak also announced an initial £75,000 in compensation for over 500 of those affected. it follows intense pressure on the government to act, after faults in the post office s horizon it system resulted in over 700 subpostmasters being accused and prosecuted for fraud and false accounting between 1999 and 2015. only 93 convictions have so far been overturned. in a moment, we ll be hearing from a group of post office employees who ve spoken to the bbc about the ordeal they ve been through, and also about their reaction to the government s announcement. but first let s go to westminster, and our chief political correspondent henry zeffman. this i
cases. here s labour s shadowjustice secretary, jonathan reynolds. this has left the public outraged at the injustice. we believe the horizon scandal to be one of the greatest miscarriages ofjustice in british history, where people lost their lives, and then, when trying to find justice, were delayed at every turn. it is unconscionable that despite the larne lough legal rulings, several people have not been able to access the conversation they are entitled to. landmark crete legal rulings. we are united in wanting to see them exonerated in full and to receive compensation with urgency. it is important to say exoneration and not a pardon, because a pardon implies guilt that is forgiven. we recognise that doing so is not straightforward. it may be imperfect. it is an unprecedented scandal, and it will require an unprecedented response. live now to our political correspondent, harry farley. the government has gone down the route of this law to overturn the convictions. it is