Post Office Horizon cases: letters to UK Government

Post Office Horizon letter: 23 February 2024

To: Alex Chalk KC MP, Lord Chancellor & Secretary of State for Justice
From: Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs

In my letter to you of 10 January, I indicated the Scottish Government was keen to work with the UK Government to ensure sub post-masters across the UK are able to access justice and receive UK Government compensation in an equal fashion. I was pleased with the positive discussion at the recent Inter-Ministerial Group for Justice and also note effective collective working is underway at official level between relevant administrations across the UK. 

I have yet to receive a response to my recent letter and as part of your response I would welcome in this, confirmation the Bill will extend to Scotland to deliver an appropriate solution for the exoneration of Scottish sub post-masters. It is important justice is delivered on an equitable basis across the nations of the UK from the miscarriages of justice arising from failings in the Post Office Horizon system and ensuring parity for all in all ways, including time frames. It would be helpful to see at an early stage the planned detail of the bill including the criteria to be used to identify relevant cases. As offered previously the Scottish Government stands ready to work with you to swiftly respond to the need to ensure the policy of equal justice for all sub post-masters across the UK can be delivered within a Scottish context through a UK-wide Bill. 

I would welcome the opportunity to further discuss with you  these matters and the planned timescales for legislation. 

In addition, I found the prison population discussion at our inter-ministerial group interesting and it was very helpful to hear what other jurisdictions are doing to address rising prison populations. I am keen to discuss this further when we meet but perhaps in the meantime it would be helpful for our officials to also have engagement about these issues.