Which are the subpostmaster redress schemes and what criticism have they faced?
Group Litigation Order (GLO) Scheme
– Who is eligible to apply for compensation under the scheme?
The GLO scheme was set up for the 555 people who took the Post Office to the High Court in order for the financial settlement from their case to better reflect the effect it had on their lives.
– Who was involved in the High Court case against the Post Office?
Lead campaigner Sir Alan Bates was one of the 555 subpostmasters who alleged the Horizon system had been at fault for shortfalls in their accounts and was a key figure in bringing the case to court.
– How many of the 555 claimants from the High Court are eligible for compensation under the scheme?
A total of 492 subpostmasters are entitled to apply for redress under the GLO scheme, with the remaining 63 ineligible to use the scheme due to their wrongful criminal convictions.
– How much money has been paid out by the Government under the GLO scheme?
As of June 30 2025, a total of £177 million had been paid out to the GLO claimants, including interim payments.
– How many of the claimants have accepted compensation offers from the Government?
From the 452 offers made to GLO claimants, 336 have accepted their compensation offers and 334 claims have been paid.
– What criticism has the GLO scheme faced?
Sir Alan has previously described the scheme as a 'mess' and accused the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) of ignoring advice on how to streamline and speed up the process 'out of hand with the feeblest of excuses'.
Overturned Convictions Scheme
– Who is eligible to apply for redress under the scheme?
Almost 1,000 subpostmasters were wrongfully convicted as part of the Horizon scandal and those who have since had their convictions quashed are able to apply to the scheme.
– What were subpostmasters prosecuted for?
A large proportion of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office for offences such as theft and false accounting after money went missing from their branch accounts.
– Is the scheme still running?
The scheme was closed by the Government last month in order to make way for the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme following new legislation which overturned all convictions related to the Horizon scandal.
– How much money was paid out as part of the scheme?
A total of £68 million was paid out to claimants, including interim payments.
– How many claims were made under the scheme?
According to Government data, 111 victims were eligible for redress under the scheme, with the Post Office fully settling 71 of the claims and paying a minimum of £200,000 as an interim payment to the remaining claimants.
The remaining 40 claims are now being administered through the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme.
Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme
– What is the difference between the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme and the Overturned Convictions Scheme?
Compensation administered through the Horizon Conviction Redress Scheme is paid out by the Government rather than the Post Office and comes following the blanket overturning of convictions related to the Horizon system.
– What money is on offer for those who have had their convictions overturned?
Victims eligible for the scheme are able to either accept a fixed sum of £600,000 or submit a more detailed individual claim.
All applicants are eligible for a £200,000 interim payment.
– How much money has been paid out under the scheme?
As of June 30 2025, a total of £252 million has been paid out under the scheme, including interim payments.
– How many claims have been settled as part of the scheme?
From the 416 final claims made, a total of 401 have been accepted and 397 have been paid.
– What criticisms has the scheme received?
Many subpostmasters have criticised the way in which the detailed individual claims are held as those who choose that method are no longer entitled to the fixed £600,000 sum and potentially face receiving less money.
Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS)
– Who is eligible to apply for the HSS?
The HSS scheme was set up for those who experienced shortfalls in their accounts due to the Horizon system but were not wrongfully convicted or part of the 555 who took the Post Office to the High Court.
– What are the claimants entitled to?
In March 2024, HSS claimants were made eligible for a £75,000 interim payment.
– What criticisms has the scheme received?
Many claimants have said they were forced to accept low offers without legal advice.
– Who administers the compensation?
The initial claims are paid out by the Post Office but appeals are dealt with by DBT.
– Were those who were eligible for the £75,000 fixed sum able to claim more money?
HSS claimants are able to send their claim to an independent appeals system called Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeals.
– How much has been paid out as part of the scheme?
As of June 30 2025, a total of £601 million has been paid to claimants, including interim payments.
– How many claims have been settled as part of the scheme?
A total of 7,750 claims have been made as part of the scheme, with 5,160 offers made, 4,774 offers accepted by claimants and 4,732 paid in full.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Thames Water faces rocketing demand for supplies
Thames Water has warned that plans to build 100 new data centres across London and the South East will pile more pressure on its creaking infrastructure. The utility giant said it had identified 108 'hyper or large' data centres that will drive up demand in its region, with bosses suggesting it will have to manage water supplies carefully to ensure there is no impact on households. Each data centre is equivalent to thousands of homes being added to a water network, meaning the pipeline of new data centres is on par with a new small city being built. In its annual report, Thames Water said that building data centres 'needs to be carefully managed from a demand and UK growth perspective'. The company, which is battling to avoid nationalisation amid pressure from a £17bn debt pile, has previously raised the prospect of rationing water use for data centres or charging more at peak times. Data centres contain giant racks of computer servers that need to be cooled to avoid overheating, often with water piped in. The facilities are crucial to the rise of artificial intelligence and are a key priority for Sir Keir Starmer's growth push. However, the vast number being built has sparked concern among water companies such as Thames Water, which is now engaging with the Government to prevent potential shortages in future. 'The south-east of England is a water-stressed region and data centres can use a vast amount of water, equivalent to the usage of thousands of homes at peak draw,' a Thames Water spokesman said. 'With a large proportion of the proposed data centres earmarked to be built in the Thames Water region, it brings a challenge between safeguarding our finite resources while supporting the UK's growth strategy. 'It is important that we work collaboratively to meet this challenge and to avoid exacerbating water stress and impacting service for customers and the environment.' 'We are engaging with the Government regarding the challenge of water demand related to cooling data centres and how this can be mitigated. We are also working with a number of data centre providers about opportunities to reduce demand through innovation.' A corridor of land between London and Slough, much of which is served by Thames Water, contains Britain's densest collection of data centres. An independent review of the water sector last week cited data centres as one of the factors that are likely to mean water bills rising by 30pc over the next five years. The report, by Sir Jon Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, said that national infrastructure bodies should be consulted when deciding where to build them. The Government has welcomed investment in new data centres, including designating them as critical national infrastructure. Thames Water last week started a hosepipe ban for more than 1 million people in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire. The company is also seeking to agree a rescue deal with creditors, but has warned it may fall into special administration if talks between the lenders and regulator Ofwat fail.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Britain risks following France into a terrifying debt crisis
Last week brought more bad news about the UK's public finances. June's figures for public sector borrowing came in at £20.7bn, well above the OBR's forecast and City expectations. What's more, £16.4bn of this was accounted for by debt interest payments. Yes, that's right: £16.4bn in one month. We are borrowing enormous sums to pay the interest on past borrowings of enormous sums. We are getting dangerously close to what economists call 'the debt trap'. This is when, under the pressure of rising debt interest payments, the debt ratio starts to explode. It goes without saying that it is good to avoid this, if you can. But can we? Be warned, you may need a ready supply of hot towels for this next bit. The key players in the debt drama are: the budget deficit, the debt ratio, the growth rate of the economy in money terms (which is equal to the real growth rate plus the rate of inflation) and the rate at which the Government can borrow. If the rate at which the Government borrows exceeds the growth of the economy (in nominal terms), then debt interest payments and the overall debt will rise as a share of GDP. In order to stop this process from leading to an ever-higher debt ratio, the Government must run a primary budget surplus (meaning a surplus on its budget without interest payments), requiring higher taxes and/or cuts in government spending. And the higher the initial debt ratio, the larger the surplus needs to be to stabilise the debt ratio. The debt dynamics are merciless. When emerging market countries become stuck in the debt trap, the result is usually default or much higher inflation, or both. Remarkably, given our pitifully low to non-existent real growth rate, the nominal growth of GDP (i.e. expressed in money terms), exceeds the average rate at which the Government borrows by a small margin. Phew! But this is somewhat misleading because the average cost of government debt is heavily influenced by past borrowing, some of which was at lower interest rates. When this debt matures, there is a risk that it will be refinanced at higher interest rates. So we are currently just avoiding the debt trap, but with the deficit so large, the debt ratio is still rising. In these circumstances, it is hardly surprising that the gloom is still gathering about the fiscal prospects that the Chancellor faces in the Budget this autumn. It hardly makes our position any better, but we are not alone. Amid all this domestic pessimism, few people have noticed what is happening to our close neighbour across the channel. France is facing a fiscal predicament every bit as serious as ours. For a start, France's ratio of government debt to GDP is higher than ours – 113pc of GDP compared with our 100pc. And its deficit is higher too – 5.8pc last year compared to our 5.1pc. And ours is set to be just under 4pc this year. In both countries, GDP growth has been weak, and prospects are clouded with uncertainty. The one area where France is better positioned is the cost of borrowing, and this really does show the weakness of the UK's position. Whereas 10-year bond yields here are 4.6pc, in France they stand at about 3.5pc, similar to other euro-zone members. In this regard, however, something extraordinary has been happening. French yields have been converging on Italy's. The gap between them is now only 0.18pc, the lowest for almost 20 years. It doesn't seem too fanciful to imagine that French yields will soon surpass Italy's. Admittedly, after a recent period of comparatively strong growth, it looks as though Italian economic growth is set to be slower than growth in France, returning to the long-established norm. That certainly does not make the job of stabilising the public finances any easier. And, at 135pc of GDP, Italy's debt ratio is a good deal higher than in France. But Italy possesses two striking advantages. First, its fiscal deficit is only 3.4pc of GDP, compared to France's 5.8pc. And excluding interest payments (the so-called primary budget), it is in a surplus of 0.5pc, compared to France's deficit of 3.7pc. The result is that to stabilise the debt ratio, Italy needs to tighten the budget deficit (through a mixture of higher taxes and expenditure cuts) by only 0.5pc of GDP. By contrast, to stabilise her debt ratio, France needs to tighten fiscal policy by over 3pc of GDP by 2027. Italy's second advantage is surprising to anyone who has followed Italian politics over the past 80 years. She seems to be more politically stable than France. Giorgia Meloni looks likely to be Italy's first post-war prime minister to complete their term. In France, there have been six prime ministers since 2020, and the current incumbent, Francois Bayrou, who heads a minority government, could be ousted any time soon. He recently announced a plan to tighten French fiscal policy by 1.5pc of GDP. By comparison, Rachel Reeves' Budget last October increased taxes by 1.2pc of GDP, but this was more than offset by increases in public expenditure. There is little chance of the proposed French tightening getting through parliament unscathed. The failure to pass a budget for next year, leading to the fall of the present government, could cause French bond yields to flare up. And then there is the presidential election in 2027. On voting intentions in the first round, Jordan Bardella, the likely candidate of Marine Le Pen's National Rally, is well ahead of the other candidates. Obviously, there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip. But if the markets were to view a victory for the National Rally as likely, then they would surely send French bond yields much higher, thereby putting France in a dangerous fiscal position. We cannot gloat. There but for the grace of God go all of us.
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Baby-faced Scot obsessed with terrorists threatened to make ‘9/11 look like the Teletubbies' before police raided home
The accused appeared in the dock this week at the High Court in Glasgow BOMB PLOT Baby-faced Scot obsessed with terrorists threatened to make '9/11 look like the Teletubbies' before police raided home Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MAN held during a terror probe claimed he would make the 9/11 attacks "look like an episode of the Teletubbies". Curtis Ross had a fascination with "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski - the lone wolf terrorist who killed three Americans and injured many others over nearly 20 years. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Curtis Ross appeared at the High Court in Glasgow on terror charges Credit: Alamy 3 The accused had a fascination with "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski Credit: EPA The 24 year-old had been arrested after posting online a clip of him blowing up two gas canisters near the River Leven in Methil, Fife. Ross's home was raided and police discovered a drawing marked "Project Payback". A phone and tablet device were also examined which included the voice message about the 2001 Twin Towers atrocity and him discussing with others "murdering all the people who wronged you". Ross appeared in the dock this week at the High Court in Glasgow. He pled guilty to a charge of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner which included sending the concerning messages and voice notes on Snapchat and Facebook causing an explosion, filming it and putting the footage on social media between June 25 and July 31 2024. He had a not guilty plea to a charge under the Terrorism Act accepted. Ross was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date. A Facebook friend of Ross had spotted the explosion video in late July 2024. He showed it to a young woman who was so "alarmed" she contacted police. Ross was held that day after being spotted in Methil. Detectives - along with Counter Terrorism officers - searched his home in the town. Netflix doc shows how serial killer and 'unabomber' Ted Kaczynski avoided police for over a decade They found the "Project Payback" drawing along with a sketch of what was described as a "homemade explosive device". Inside a desk were various items including a roll of wire, mobile phone batteries, nails, screws and a watch. There were also initial fears about a package in the property which led to homes in the area being evacuated, but it did not contain an explosive. Prosecutor Greg Farrell said Ross "laughed" when first quizzed about what he had filmed, claiming it was an "attempt at satire comedy". 3 Curtis Lee Ross pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to terrorism charges Credit: Spindrift But, he confirmed that he had blown up two butane gas canisters and had posted it on his Facebook page under the name of a Batman comic villain. Mr Farrell: "He made reference to social media corrupting his decisions." Ross was asked about his interest in Kaczynski - captured in 1996 - and said he was "apparently some kind of mail bomber" that he had learned more about by going down a "rabbit hole" online. Ross went on to insist that he himself was "not a terrorist" as he had "made peace with everything in his life". But, police found a series of concerning messages during checks of his phone and black tablet. In late June 2024, he wrote to 15 users on Facebook Messenger: "Here guys, I am just here to inform you that the only thing stopping you from murdering all of the people who wronged you is just a box. "That is only if you cannot do it correctly and make sure enough evidence is gone so that the charges do not stick." He referred to "instructions on how to make a pipe bomb" adding: "Hope this comes in handy for you one day x". In messages on the day of the River Leven explosion, a social media contact called Ross "a human". Mr Farrell then told the court of a Snapchat conversation with a friend shortly before. Ross stated at one stage: "I am going to make 9/11 look like an episode of the Teletubbies, f*** sake." He then backtracked again, claiming it was "satire comedy" and that he was "only joking". The friend replied: "F**k Islam, f**k them all." During further rants, Ross said he had been let down by the "justice system" moaning he had been treated differently because he is a man. In messages to another contact, he said: "I have realised that I simply cannot allow what is happening to humanity and our world to continue. "I can and will have an impact on preventing the worst from happening xx." The court heard there were also photos, videos and sketches of the "Unabomber" on the devices as well as images of a pipe bomb and firearms together with "various other clips which suggest violence". Lord Colbeck deferred sentencing for reports.
