Rishi Sunak under pressure as Post Office scandal victims demand faster compensation – latest

Rishi Sunak would “strongly support” the body which reviews honours if it decided to look at revoking former Post Office boss Paula Vennells’ CBE in the wake of the Horizon scandal.

There have been growing calls grow for the former Post Office chief executive to hand back her CBE after an ITV drama returned the widespread miscarriage of justice to the spotlight.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said that Mr Sunak would “strongly support” the forfeiture committee “if they were to choose to investigate”.

Earlier, a former Conservative cabinet minister said all workers wrongly convicted in the scandal should be exonerated because each of their cases is linked to “one single lie”.

Sir David Davis, a senior Tory MP, is planning to raise the issue in the Commons as MPs return from the Christmas holidays and has called for an emergency debate.

“All of the cases depend on one single lie, and that is nobody but the postmasters and mistresses could access their computers,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme earlier.

Key Points

Sunak: I would back review of ex-boss’s CBE

Senior Tory calls for mass exonerations

Victims demand faster compensation payments

Justice secretary to hold talks on scandal

Victims: Ed Davey has serious questions to answer

Sunak: Victims could be exonerated

Petition for Post Office boss to lose CBE hits one million

SNP and Tories will resort to ‘dirty tricks’ in the election – Sarwar

13:36 , Matt Mathers

The SNP and the Tories will resort to “dirty tricks” to cling to power at Holyrood and Westminster, Anas Sarwar warned, as he urged independence supporters north of the border to back his party in the upcoming general election and help with “booting out the Tories” from Downing Street.

Mr Sarwar, however, insisted that that was “just the first step” for his party as he set his sights on recapturing power at Holyrood in the 2026 Scottish parliament elections.

Full report:

Sarwar warns of ‘dirty tricks’ from Tories and SNP ahead of general election

Sunak would ‘strongly’ back review of ex-Post Office chief’s CBE

13:15 , Matt Mathers

Sunak would ‘strongly’ back review of ex-Post Office chief’s CBE over Horizon scandal

Rishi Sunak would “strongly support” the body which reviews honours if it decided to look at revoking former Post Office boss Paula Vennells’ CBE in the wake of the Horizon scandal.

There have been growing calls grow for the former Post Office chief executive to hand back her CBE after an ITV drama returned the widespread miscarriage of justice to the spotlight.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said that Mr Sunak would “strongly support” the forfeiture committee “if they were to choose to investigate”.

A petition addressed to Sir Chris Wormald, the chair of the committee, calling for Ms Vennells to lose her honour has already attracted more than one million signatures.

Justice secretary Alex Chalk is meeting Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake on Monday to discuss how to help the convicted branch managers clear their names.

Mr Chalk will make a statement in the Commons later.

Adam Forrest reports:

Sunak would ‘strongly’ back honours probe into ex-Post Office boss’s CBE

Watch: Post Office scandal victim cries during TV interview as she relives mental health breakdown

13:09 , Matt Mathers

A Post Office victim cried during her live interview on Good Morning Britain as she relived how the scandal led to her having a mental health breakdown, Lucy Neeson reports.

Jess Kaur was one of the subpostmistresses who was caught up in the Horizon IT scandal that hit Post Offices. Her story has been portrayed in ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Monday (8 January), Ms Kaur said: “It drove me so mad that I tried to commit suicide.”

Richard Madeley said: “You ended up in hospital.”

Ms Kaur then became visibly emotional as she spoke of what she went through.

The presenter was forced to step in and ask her: “Are you alright?”

You can watch the clip here:

Post Office victim cries during TV interview as she relives mental health breakdown

Sunak flood response too slow and not enough, says Starmer

13:00 , Matt Mathers

Sir Keir Starmer has said Rishi Sunak’s response to flooding is “not good enough” and vowed Labour would take pre-emptive action earlier in the year to get ahead of the problem.

The Conservatives have been accused of being “asleep at the wheel” over floods, as more than 1,800 homes have been flooded across the south of England and Midlands.

Adam Forrest reports:

Sunak flood response too slow and not enough, says Starmer

Starmer: Labour would back legislation to overturn convictions

12:45 , Matt Mathers

The Labour leader told broadcasters: “I think all the convictions need to be looked at because there’s a root cause of the problem here. The government could pass legislation, so obviously we’d support that if they did.

“It might be possible to get these cases back before the Court of Appeal quickly – I’ve done that when I was a prosecutor – but whichever way it’s done, these convictions need to be looked at.

“But in addition to that, to stop it happening again, take the prosecuting role out of the Post Office and give it to the Crown Prosecution Service. So you’ve got an independent prosecutor looking at these cases in future.

“But also that compensation has been allowed for by the Treasury, has been set aside, pay it to the victims, because the human impact on them has been huge.”

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer (PA Wire)

Editorial: The government must finally take decisive action on the Post Office scandal

12:30 , Matt Mathers

Editorial: Although the initial failures did not happen on the Sunak government’s watch, and concerns were first raised in 2009 when Labour was in power, it falls to today’s ministers to speedily put right the mistakes of their predecessors

Read the full editorial here:

Editorial: It’s time for the government to take action on the Post Office scandal

Alok Sharma attacks Rishi Sunak’s ‘smoke and mirrors’ oil bill

12:15 , Matt Mathers

Alok Sharma has said he will not support Rishi Sunak’s “smoke and mirrors” oil and gas bill.

The former cabinet member and Cop26 president said the legislation is a “total distraction, which frankly changes nothing”.

Archie Mitchell reports:

Alok Sharma attacks Rishi Sunak’s ‘smoke and mirrors’ oil bill

Starmer: Post Office should be stripped of prosecution powers

11:52 , Matt Mathers

Labour has called for prosecution powers to be stripped from the Post Office and previous convictions looked at again, amid growing anger over the wrongful prosecution of subpostmasters and postmistresses for alleged fraud.

Sir Keir Starmer, speaking during a visit in Loughborough, said: “I think that the prosecution should be taken out of the hands of the Post Office and given to the Crown Prosecution Service.

“I used to run the Crown Prosecution Service, we’ve prosecuted for other departments, we can do it here – that should be done straight away.

“And these convictions, the remaining convictions need to be looked at en masse.”

The Labour leader said all convictions in the scandal needed to be revisited.

Starmer meets Ian Clement whose house in Loughborough, East Midlands flooded during Storm Henk (PA)

Sunak: We’re making ‘good progress’ on the economy

11:30 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak said “good progress” on his pledges concerning the economy means “we are now in a position where we can cut your taxes”.

The Prime Minister told a PM Connect event that “debt, as measured by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility is on track to fall” and that the economy outperformed expectations.

“Inflation is the most important one. I’m pleased that we’ve delivered that ahead of schedule…

“It happened because we took difficult and responsible decisions to control spending and borrowing and welfare and allow the Bank of England to get on and do its job.

“And because we did all of that and successfully halved inflation, we are now in a position where we can cut your taxes.”

Prime minister Rishi Sunak speaking to staff during a visit to VEKA PLC in Burnley, Lancashire (PA)

Petition by victim calling for compensation and justice hits 300,000 signatures

11:20 , Matt Mathers

A petition started in 2021 by one of the victims of the Post Office scandal calling for compensation and justice for all those affected has reached 300,000 signatures.

Christopher Head – formerly the UK’s youngest postmaster – was personally affected by the scandal, and started the petition in an attempt to get compensation and accountability.

Mr Head said: “Lives were destroyed, businesses lost, homes repossessed, bankruptcies, false imprisonment, families destroyed, health issues and suicides, all down to a total cover up of the truth. I was one of these people…”

Fifty potential new victims have contacted lawyers since the drama aired, but Mr and other campaigners still believe the compensation process should be sped up, and that any potential victims should have the opportunity to return to their old jobs.

At 292,492 signatures, Mr Head has the single most supported petition that seeks redress for victims specifically. You can sign the petition by following this link.

MPs call for emergency debate on Post Office scandal

10:46 , Matt Mathers

MPs plan to raise the Horizon scandal in the Commons as parliament returns today amid growing anger over the wrongful prosecution of subpostmasters and postmistresses for alleged fraud.

Conservative backbencher David Davis and Labour MP Kevan Jones are pushing for an emergency debate after an ITV drama returned the widespread miscarriage of justice to the spotlight.

Former Tory minister Mr Davis stressed it was down to Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to grant urgent questions from MPs but he believed there was “no doubt” the issue would come up in the chamber in the coming days.

“This is such a big issue. There are now tens of millions of people who care about this, and care about it a lot,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It did take a docudrama in this case I’m afraid, and many of us have been struggling for a long while to try and elevate it.”

Mr Davis also said he could see “no logical reason” why there couldn’t be a mass appeal for all those wrongly convicted given that all of the cases “depend on one single lie”.

(Getty)

Conservatives face ‘obliateration’ at election, senior Tory says

10:45 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives face “obliteration” at the general election, a senior Tory MP has said in comments leaked from a private event.

Danny Kruger, a leading backbencher and founder of the increasingly influential New Conservatives group, made the remarks at an event held by the ResPublica think tank last year, The Guardian reports.

He said: “The narrative that the public has now firmly adopted – that over 13 years things have got worse – is one we just have to acknowledge and admit.

“I’m afraid, if we leave office next year, we would have left the country sadder, less united and less conservative than when we found it.”

Mr Kruger did not deny making the comments.

Conservative MP Danny Kruger has said he does not agree women have an absolute right to bodily autonomy in a debate about the US abortion ban (Parliament TV)

ICYMI: Sunak forced to defend Rwanda plan after leak suggested he harboured significant doubts

10:30 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak has been forced to defend his flagship Rwanda plan after leaked documents suggested he harboured significant doubts about the controversial scheme – and argued for it to be scaled back.

The prime minister said it had been his job when chancellor to scrutinise “every proposal” that involved spending taxpayers’ money.

Kate Devlin reports:

Ministers urged to be ‘careful’ about quashing all convictions

10:14 , Matt Mathers

Ministers should be “careful” about quashing the convictions of sub-postmasters in case “that one person” has committed a crime, one of the victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal has said.

Tracy Felstead told BBC Breakfast: “I think we need to be really careful that we’re not just going to go and turn everybody’s convictions over just in case you have that one person that has committed a crime and you have just turned over their conviction.

“I think we have to be careful with what we are doing.”

Ed Davey has serious questions to answer over Post Office scandal, victims say

09:58 , Matt Mathers

Sir Ed Davey has “serious questions to answer” over his role in the Horizon IT scandal and should consider quitting, former Post Office branch managers have said.

The Liberal Democrat leader was postal affairs minister from 2010 to 2012 and has been accused of having “fobbed off” victims of the scandal, which has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.

Archie Mitchell reports:

Ed Davey has serious questions to answer over Post Office scandal, victims say

Post Office boss should ‘give back’ CBE – Labour frontbencher

09:43 , Matt Mathers

The former Post Office boss who was in charge during the Horizon scandal should “give back” her CBE, a Labour frontbencher has said.

Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, said: “In terms of the honour that the former head of the Post Office received… well, speaking for myself personally here, I do think she should give that back,” he told TalkTV.

“It’s an insult to the sub-postmasters who suffered from what her leadership delivered that she should accept that honour.”

File photo: Steve Reed (PA Archive)

Tories choose partner of disgraced ex-MP Peter Bone to fight by-election to replace him

09:10 , Matt Mathers

The Conservatives have chosen the partner of disgraced ex-MP Peter Bone to fight a by-election to replace him.

Mr Bone’s constituents used a recall petition to kick him out of parliament in December, after he was found to have indecently exposed himself to a staff member and trapped him in the bathroom of a hotel room.

Kate Devlin reports:

Tories choose partner of disgraced ex-MP Peter Bone in by-election to replace him

Post Office should be stripped of role deciding compensation

08:56 , Matt Mathers

The Post Office should be stripped of its role in deciding on compensation for those who were wrongly prosecuted because of flaws in its Horizon IT system, a member of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board has said.

Professor Richard Moorhead, of the University of Exeter, said an independent body which may be able to take over that role already exists.

He told Times Radio: “We certainly think it is a bad idea that the Post Office has such a role in the compensation scheme.

“It obviously paints the wrong picture to the subpostmasters. We need a scheme which is, as fully as possible, independent from the Post Office.

“That could be done relatively straightforwardly. One of the compensation schemes is independent of the Post Office.

“It might be possible to move the cases across to there.”

Petition for Post Office boss to lose CBE over Horizon scandal hits one million

08:36 , Matt Mathers

A petition calling for former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to lose her CBE over the Horizon scandal has attracted more than one million signatures.

Demands for the Honours Forfeiture Committee to remove her CBE have emerged again after ITV aired a new drama into the scandal, which has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.

Cormac Pearson reports:

Petition for Post Office boss to lose CBE over Horizon scandal hits one million

Post Office scandal: Justice will be done ‘as quickly as possible’, minister says

08:35 , Matt Mathers

Treasury minister Bim Afolami said the government is working “incredibly hard” to make sure that justice is done “as quickly as possible” for postmasters wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal.

“We are working incredibly hard to make sure that as quickly as possible justice is done, because I was as appalled as everybody else in the country was when I heard about this scandal,” he told LBC.

Mr Afolami said Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who served for a period as postal affairs minister in the coalition government, should “be honest with people” and explain why as a minister “he didn’t ask the right questions”.

Asked whether Sir Ed should consider his position, he said: “To be honest, I’m not one who goes around saying that (someone) needs to resign, but I do think he needs to do is he needs to be honest with people and explain why as a minister, he didn’t ask the right questions.”

File photo: Bim Afolami (PA Media)

Justice secretary to hold talks on speeding up compensation payments

08:27 , Matt Mathers

The justice secretary will reportedly hold talks with another minister in his department to look at ways of speeding up compensation payments to victims of the Post Office scandal.

Alex Chalk is due to meet with Kevin Hollinrake, the Post Office minister, this morning as the scandal attracts significant media attention following the Mr Bates vs the Post Office TV dramatisation of the scandal.

More than 700 Post Office branch managers were given criminal convictions after faulty Fujitsu accounting software called Horizon made it appear as though money was missing from their shops.

File photo: Alex Chalk (PA Wire)

Compensation happening at ‘snail’s pace’

08:19 , Matt Mathers

Former workers wrongly accused of stealing from the Post Office have accused the government of issuing payments at a “snail’s pace”.

The prime minister said on Sunday that the government was examining ways to speed up the appeals process for wrongly convicted Post Office branch managers.

“What are you going to do to ensure we get fair and final compensation, not in dribs and drabs and not at a snail’s pace?” Sue Knight, a postmistress who lost everything after she was wrongly accused of theft, asked Mr Sunak during an appearance on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

“Please stop making us still feel like victims.”

Post Office scandal victims could be exonerated, Rishi Sunak suggests

08:15 , Matt Mathers

The government is examining ways to speed up the appeals process for wrongly convicted Post Office branch managers after what has been described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Moves could include exonerating all those involved or removing the Post Office’s ability to investigate or prosecute suspecter officers, Rishi Sunak has confirmed.

Kate Devlin reports:

Post Office scandal victims could be exonerated, Rishi Sunak suggests

08:14 , Matt Mathers

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live politics coverage.

As MPs return to parliament following the Christmas holidays, we’ll be covering the continuing fallout from the Post Office scandal and other stories from Westminster and elsewhere.

Stay tuned for all the latest updates.