Government did not want to ‘harass’ Post Office victims by chasing up claims

At least 600,000 relating to Horizon IT scandal remains unclaimed, with officials reluctant to recontact victims

Post office operators yet to claim compensation of at least 600,000 relating to the Horizon IT scandal have not been chased up by officials because the government did not want to harass" them with letters, it has emerged.

In a report criticising the speed and handling of payouts after the Post Office scandal, the House of Commons public accounts committee (PAC) said the government is taking insufficient action" identifying all the operators eligible to claim some of the 1.7bn being paid out across four compensation schemes.