Government announces Freeths appointed to work on new compensation scheme for over 500 Post Office victims

The lawyers that secured the landmark victory in exposing Britain's largest miscarriage of justice will help hundreds of postmasters by supporting the design and implementation of a new scheme funded by the UK Government.

National law firm Freeths has been appointed by the Government to work with Justice for Postmasters Alliance (JFSA) to support the design and implementation of a scheme to award further compensation to the 500+ victims of Britain's biggest-ever miscarriage of justice.

Following a large, national campaign mounted since the Group Litigation Order (GLO) High Court settlement in 2019, the Government has now agreed to set up a new scheme for the original 500+ claimants who suffered the devastating financial and reputational consequences of the flawed Horizon IT system rolled out by the Post Office and Fujitsu.

As part of this, Freeths' team led by James Hartley, Partner and National Head of Dispute Resolution, will play an integral role with JFSA in shaping the scheme for the benefit of the postmasters, the objective being to award fair damages to the qualifying GLO claimants to ensure that they receive proper redress.

James Hartley, Partner and National Head of Dispute Resolution at Freeths said: “We are delighted that the Government is doing the right thing for the GLO claimants. It will achieve closure for them and deliver fair compensation. We are committed to driving this through to a conclusion in the interests of the claimant group.”

Since starting the successful group litigation legal battle against the Post Office in 2016, James and his team have worked tirelessly with JFSA and others to obtain fair redress for all those affected.

Freeths' national team, led by James Hartley, is now considered to be one of the foremost Dispute Resolution teams in the UK.