The Post Office should no longer manage compensation schemes for victims of the Horizon scandal to prevent further delays in justice, according to a report by the Commons business and trade committee.  

Published on the anniversary of ITV's *Mr Bates vs the Post Office* drama, which highlighted the scandal, the report criticized the slow pace of compensation payments and suggested imposing financial penalties on the government if delays continue.  

The committee revealed that Post Office Ltd, a state-owned entity, has spent £136 million on legal fees across four Horizon compensation schemes, including £82 million to Herbert Smith Freehills for administering two of the schemes. These legal costs represent 27% of the redress paid to date.  

Liam Byrne, chair of the committee, condemned the situation, stating: “Years after Britain’s largest legal injustice, many Horizon victims still await the compensation they deserve for the devastation caused to their lives. Justice delayed is justice denied, with victims dying before being compensated, while lawyers profit millions. This is simply unacceptable.”  

The four Horizon compensation schemes include two overseen by the Post Office: the overturned convictions scheme for victims whose convictions were quashed and the Horizon shortfall scheme (HSS) for operators not involved in the initial group litigation led by Alan Bates. Two additional schemes, for group litigation claimants and victims whose convictions were overturned by parliament, are managed by the Department for Business and Trade.  

Bates has indicated he may pursue legal action if claims remain unresolved by March.  

The committee acknowledged some progress but found the schemes “poorly designed,” with payments still “too slow.” It recommended removing the Post Office from administering any redress schemes.  

To date, £499 million of the allocated £1.8 billion budget has been paid, while 14% of applicants to the Post Office-run HSS from the original 2020 deadline have yet to settle their claims.  

A Post Office spokesperson responded, stating, “We are working with the government to ensure redress is paid as quickly as possible.”  

“Our spend with external law firms is kept under constant review with a significant portion having been spent on establishing the Horizon shortfall scheme and overturned convictions redress process, thus enabling us to pay redress to victims of the scandal.”

The Post Office would support the government taking over administration of the two Post Office-run schemes, the spokesperson added.

Herbert Smith Freehills said it was confident its legal fees were at the expected level for such work.