Push to clear names of all the hundreds caught up in Post Office 'miscarriage of justice'

HUNDREDS of wronged subpostmasters could get a blanket exoneration following an "appalling miscarriage of justice", Rishi Sunak has said.

- Steph Spyro

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk is also "looking at" removing the Post Office's ability to prosecute, the Prime Minister confirmed.

More than 700 branch managers were wrongly convicted of theft and false accounting after faulty Fujitsu software called Horizon made it appear as though money was missing from their shops.

The scandal - which unfolded between 1999 and 2015 was thrust back into the spotlight and national conversation by four-part ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, screened over consecutive nights last week.

Mr Sunak said yesterday: "Everyone has been shocked by watching what they have done.

"It's something that happened in the '90s but seeing and hearing about it again just shows what an appalling miscarriage of justice it is for everyone affected.

"It's important that those people now get the justice they deserve and that's what the compensation schemes are about. The Government has paid out about £150million to thousands of people already. Of course we want to get the money to the people as quickly as possible, that's why there are interim payments of up to, I think, £600,000 that can be made.

"There are three different schemes available and for anyone affected they should come forward." Some 50 new potential victims have reportedly come forward since Mr Bates vs the Post Office, starring Toby Jones, was broadcast.