Justice Minister accuses Britain of ‘betrayal’ of Scotland’s Horizon victims

The UK government has been accused of “betraying Scotland’s Horizon victims” after it emerged that Westminster legislation to clear the names of those wrongly convicted in the Post Office scandal will be extended to Northern Ireland – but will still not apply north of the border.

The Scottish Government will bring forward its own legislation to exonerate sub-postmasters wrongfully convicted over faulty software, but Holyrood ministers insist it would be better if a UK Government bill could be extended to Scotland.

Justice Minister Angela Constance pushed the case during a meeting with Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake last month.

It comes after around 100 Post Office sub-postmasters in Scotland were among those convicted after being wrongly accused of embezzling funds.

The UK Government’s Post Office (Horizon System) Offenses Bill was originally intended to clear the names of those affected in England and Wales, but will now be extended to Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the “legislation will deliver results for those affected in NI as quickly as possible”.

Mr Hollinrake said the UK government was expanding the scope of the legislation because of the “significant and unique challenges” the newly restored government there would face in bringing forward legislation at an “accelerated pace”.

The Post Office Minister told Ms Constance that without action from Westminster there was a “risk of significant delay in justice for postmasters in Northern Ireland”, adding that this would result in a “lack of equality with others affected in the United Kingdom”.

He confirmed: “We have therefore concluded that the Bill should be amended to quash convictions in Northern Ireland in light of these unique circumstances.”

However, he said Scotland was a “historically separate jurisdiction”, noting that the prosecutions had not been carried out by the Post Office but by the Lord Advocate, the most senior prosecutor north of the border.

As a result, Mr Hollinrake made it clear: “It remains the UK Government’s view that it is more appropriate for the Scottish Government to make proposals to address the prosecution of this matter in Scotland and for these to be examined by the Scottish Parliament. ”

While the minister insisted the UK government would “continue to support” the Scottish government in developing its own legislation, his letter prompted an angry response from Ms Constance.

She said: “We fully support the extension of this bill to Northern Ireland, but it is outrageous that the UK government has refused to include Scotland.”

The Justice Secretary added: “This ignoring of Scotland is typical of Westminster’s attitude.

“It means that subpostmasters north of the border will be the only victims in Britain not covered by Westminster legislation, which is precisely where the miscarriage of justice has its origins and been overseen by successive Tory and Labor governments.

“It is a betrayal of Scotland’s Horizon victims for British ministers to behave in this way.”

Ms Constance told how subpostmasters had suffered “one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in Britain’s legal history”, adding that those affected in Scotland “do not deserve to be subjected to the petty political scoring of Westminster.”

She noted that amendments have been tabled in the House of Commons that could extend the UK government’s bill to Scotland, adding: “We still hope that MPs will overrule the UK government and amend the legislation to include Scotland .

“But if that doesn’t happen, there will be Scottish legislation.”