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  • February 18, 2025
Former NI sub-postmaster awarded £200,000 compensation

Former NI sub-postmaster awarded £200,000 compensation

PA Media A red circle on a white board. Inside the red circle are the words 'post office' in white. Behind the sign are brick walls.PA media

His legal representatives called the outcome ‘life-changing’.

A former Belfast sub-postmaster linked to the Horizon IT scandal will receive £200,000 compensation.

The man was given the order on Wednesday after a fifteen-year battle to clear his name.

His legal representatives called the outcome ‘life-changing’.

More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for theft due to incorrect information from the Horizon computer system.

Fraud charges have been laid against the man, who has not yet been identified, in connection with a company he ran in the early 2000s.

He initially pleaded guilty on legal advice to seven charges of false accounting.

The man was given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay back the sum of £1,500 to the Post Office.

However, after the computer system was found to have errors, his convictions were quashed in September.

Lawyers for the man have applied for compensation under the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme.

Lawyer Victoria Trainor of KRW Law argued that no amount of money would remove the stigma her client faced.

“These toxic beliefs have affected every layer of his life, preventing him from developing any careers and excluding him from getting certain jobs which unfortunately affected his mental health.”

Ms Trainor said it was “depressing that a completely innocent man, dedicated to his work and family, was arrested for a crime he did not commit”.

“The Post Office hierarchy responsible for this injustice debacle should be forever ashamed,” she added.

What was the Post Office Scandal?

The scandal has been described as one of worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

The Post Office itself has taken many cases to court, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015. A further 283 cases were brought by other agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Many sub-postmasters went to prison for false accounting and theft, and many suffered financial ruin.