Credit: William - stock.adobe.com

Legislation introduced last year to overturn convictions linked to the scandal has so far cleared 65 people. The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act, which came into force in June 2024, was designed to exonerate postmasters and other staff wrongly accused of offences connected to the faulty Horizon accounting system.

The scandal saw Post Office workers across the UK prosecuted after errors in the software falsely indicated that money had gone missing from branches.

According to the report, 100 cases have been assessed since the Act was introduced. Of these, 65 people have had their criminal records cleared of Post Office-related offending. This included 64 convictions that were quashed and one alternative to prosecution that was deleted.

A total of 52 people have accessed compensation through the UK government’s redress scheme. In 35 cases, however, convictions were not quashed.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the main phase of the work to exonerate those affected had concluded, but that additional cases could still be considered.

She said: “The Horizon scandal caused enormous harm to individuals and families across the UK. Innocent people had their lives turned upside down as a result of miscarriages of justice built on flawed evidence from a deeply flawed computer system.

“It was right that we acted swiftly to introduce legislation to quash those convictions for victims in Scotland. Today’s report details that 100 cases were assessed, resulting in 65 individuals having their criminal records cleared of Post Office-related offending – 64 convictions quashed and one alternative to prosecution deleted. Thirty-five convictions were assessed as not quashed.

“Sixty-two of the 65 individuals have been successfully traced, with efforts continuing to locate the remaining three. This report also sets out for the first time the processes the Scottish government has followed and the close working with justice agencies that made this possible. I am grateful to all those involved.

“This marks the end of the core phase of the Post Office conviction project.

“However, if any individual believes they or someone they know has a relevant conviction, we remain committed to considering any new requests under the Act.”