Reviewing Miscarriage of Justice: British PM pledges compensation for wrongly accused sub-postmasters

 The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, announced on Sunday that the government is reviewing the compensation process for hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongly accused of fraud in an accounting scandal, many of whom were of Indian heritage. The scandal involved a faulty IT system named Horizon dating back to the late 1990s. Sunak spoke about the importance of overturning wrongful convictions and providing compensation to those impacted, stating that the government has already paid out about GBP 150 million to thousands of people and is working to expedite the process.

This issue has come back into the spotlight with the broadcast of a hard-hitting real-life drama series and the Metropolitan Police investigating the Post Office over potential fraud offenses. The case of Seema Biswas and Vijay Parekh, two British Indian sub-postmasters, was highlighted when their convictions were quashed alongside 37 others in a Court of Appeal case. Biswas, who had been wrongly accused of stealing GBP 75,000 from her branch, described the Court of Appeal verdict as a "huge moment." The ruling allowed the former postmasters to bring new civil cases for malicious prosecution. However, the process of exoneration and compensation has been lengthy for the victims, many of whom are still waiting for justice in what has been branded as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history.