New compensation scheme for Post Office victims is 'half-baked', Sir Alan Bates warns

Sir Alan Bates has criticized the government's new Capture Redress Scheme as "half-baked," accusing officials of failing to learn from previous compensation failures related to Post Office scandals. The scheme is intended to compensate victims of the faulty Capture computer software, which was used in Post Office branches between 1992 and 1999. Many sub-postmasters were convicted of theft due to discrepancies arising from this software. While Sir Alan welcomed the launch of the scheme, he expressed disappointment that lessons from other Postmaster Schemes, such as the Horizon scandal, had not been applied. He revealed that he himself may have been a victim of Capture and found that, based on current information, he might not be able to submit a claim. He described the requirement to submit a fully itemized claim before eligibility is determined as "mad," suggesting that victims could spend a year on claims only to be deemed ineligible. Sir Alan advocates for a two-stage process, beginning with eligibility confirmation, followed by support for victims to build their cases. This approach, he believes, would save time, money, and legal costs. The revelation that Sir Alan may have been an unrecognized Capture victim raises concerns about others in similar situations. A government spokesperson stated that victims would finally receive redress for the Capture software and that all eligible applicants would receive an interim payment of £10,000, with potential for awards exceeding £300,000 in exceptional circumstances. They also indicated readiness to provide further information to claimants. Documents suggest that the Post Office was aware of Capture's faults, including data corruption due to power interruptions, before its rollout in 1992. Meeting notes from February of that year de... download the app to read more