LONDON, May 20 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

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Further step towards full and fair redress asnewappealpermissionsprocessto beestablished.

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Change responds to recommendation from Horizon Inquiry chair Sir Wyn Williams, with claimants encouraged to seek legal adviceaheadof launch.

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NewprocessforHorizonshortfall caseswhere records are incomplete orunavailabletoalso be created followingreportpublished today.

Postmastersaffected by the Horizonscandalwhohaveaccepted a £75,000 Fixed Sum Offer(FSO)and believe they were owed more will be able toseekpermission toappeal through a new process set to launchlater this year.

This change comesdirectlyin response torecommendationsfromSir Wyn Williams in hisfirstPost Office Horizon IT Inquiry report,where hemade the case thatclaimants should be able to access a fully funded and independent appeals process.In response,the Governmentpromised to deliverthis so thatthose whohavetaken offersvia theHorizonShortfall Scheme(HSS)don'tmiss out onthe full and fair redress they are owed.

So far, more than £940 million has been paid in redress to over 11,000 claimants on the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), with anadditional£11 million paid in award uplifts via the DBT-run HSS Appeals scheme.

Those who take part willbe able toseek permissionfrom an independent persontoappeal their FSOawardin theHSS Appealsprocess.Claimants will be able to receive free legal advice andsupport,andcruciallywill notriskbeing paidless that the £75,000 they havealreadyreceived.

Theprocesswillbeas light touch as possible tominimise burden onclaimants.Applicantswillmake their application bysubmittinga conciseexplanationin writingand willnotbe requiredtosubmitsupporting evidenceunless theywishto.

Post Office Minister Blair McDougallsaid:

Many postmasters lost their livelihoodsas a result ofthis scandal and the least they deserve is to know the redress they received was fair.

This new process gives those who accepted the Fixed Sum Offer a real opportunity to have their case looked at again, with free legal support.

If you strongly believe you're owed more, I encourage you to seek legal advice.

Alongside announcing this change,Ministers haveaccepted recommendations from theIndependentSenior Lawyer Sir Gary Hickinbottomfollowing his review of Horizon Shortfall SchemeFixed Sum Offer casesin which there is no ready evidence of a shortfall.

Newguidancewillalsobepublished,outlining the procedures for managing and processing these cases to ensure claimants have a clear understanding of how their claims will be handled.

To qualify for this processthere must be evidence that it ismore likely than not thata Horizon shortfalltook place.The new processwill include guidance to Post Officeabouthow to seek shortfall evidence onagradualbasis andwillemphasise that thetest might sometimesrequireless evidence than would beneeded in other circumstances.

Notes to editors

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This process responds to Recommendation 9 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry Volume 1 report, publishedinJuly 2025, which the Government accepted in its October 2025 response.

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Claimants who want to appeal are encouraged to seek legal advice now, ahead of the opening of the scheme, so they are ready to apply.

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In December 2025, Sir Gary Hickinbottom was appointedasthe Independent Senior Lawyer to the HSS. The Department for Business and Trade and Post Office referred the handling of cases without shortfall evidence to the ISL for review.

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The latest stats on redress can be found here -Post Office Horizon financial redress data as of 30 April 2026 - GOV.UK

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.