Former South Tyneside postmaster who helped pave the way for inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal praises latest announcement on compensation

Christopher Head’s time in charge of the West Boldon Post Office ended when he became one of more than 700 people accused of fraud and theft by the Post Office, due to failures in its accounting system.

He was later part of a group of 555 subpostmasters who forced a landmark High Court ruling in 2019, paving the way for millions of pounds in future payouts.

The decision led to the Court of Appeal quashing a series of wrongful criminal convictions, but because of a “no win, no fee” agreement with their legal funders, they received only a fraction of the £43 million awarded – about £20,000 each.

However, ministers have now promised to make them eligible for the Historical Shortfall Scheme (HSS) set up by the Post Office to compensate those who had to personally cover shortfalls in their branch’s accounts due to the problems with Fujitsu’s Horizon computer system.

“I’m pleased with the decision, it’s been a long time coming,” said Mr Head.

“I’ve always said it was our group which opened the gates for the original scheme and paved the way for the convictions to be overturned.

“The fact we’ve had to wait over two years is a bit disappointing, but we have to be thankful for small mercies and the fact it has actually come about.

Announcing the change, Chancellor Rishi Sunak insisted subpostmasters and subpostmistresses affected by the scandal must be “compensated fully and fairly”.

But Mr Head has said he is waiting on further details of the scheme before he agrees whether it meets this threshold.

He added: “Full and fair is for people to be restored to the position they would have had if this had not happened - anything else is not really acceptable.”

Earlier this year, an official inquiry was started into what has been called the “worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history”.

Business minister Paul Scully is due to meet the 555 subpostmasters on March 30 to discuss further details of the compensation.

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