A Northern Ireland subpostmistress who received an 18-month prison sentence amid the Horizon IT scandal is among those to have received confirmation their convictions have now been formally quashed.
The Department of Justice is contacting subpostmasters and subpostmistresses whose convictions have been quashed following the passing of legislation at Westminster.
The draft legislation originally did not cover Northern Ireland, but the region was added to the Bill shortly before it was passed by MPs in May.
Officials believe there were 26 subpostmasters and subpostmistresses in Northern Ireland who received wrongful convictions linked to the faulty IT system.
More than 700 people who ran Post Offices in the UK were prosecuted by the company and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
The Post Office (Horizon System) Act 2024 is to exonerate those convicted on the basis of the faulty Horizon accounting software.
Madden and Finucane solicitors in Belfast said four of its clients had now received letters from the Department of Justice confirming their convictions had been quashed.
Solicitor Michael Madden said: “We are delighted that four of our clients have had their convictions quashed after instructing us to challenge their Post Office Horizon convictions.
“The convictions ruined the lives of my clients, including that of a woman who received an eighteen month suspended custodial sentence.
“We look forward to applying for immediate redress under the new Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme on behalf of our clients.
“We continue to work with the DOJ in respect of more clients who are still waiting for the DOJ to complete their process of identifying convictions that have been quashed by the new Act.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel