Formerly the youngest sub-postmaster in the United Kingdom, Chris Head lost everything after being falsely accused of stealing. He spoke out in response to Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, informing lawmakers that the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) mechanism would only be applicable to claimants who had “new information.”
Mr Reynolds said: “It will be delivered by my department in house, and we will apply the lessons learned from address schemes to date to ensure that the process is easy for postmasters to engage with and the outcomes are delivered at pace”.
The Department of Trade and Industry declared that it will be “looking for it.
When the program launches, the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, postmasters and their representatives, and others will offer more information on eligibility and application procedures.
According to Mr. Reynolds, that will happen in a “matter of months”.
However, Mr. Head, who has also actively advocated on behalf of other victims of the defective Horizon software, acknowledged that although he was in favor of the new appeals procedure, there were a few shortcomings that he would try to rectify during the consultation stage.
“Only those who present fresh evidence may be excluded from the appeals procedure’s jurisdiction.
