Postmasters’ bankruptcies reviewed

The recent Court of Appeal and Crown Court decisions to quash the convictions of many former postmasters was widely welcomed. The Courts found that the original convictions were based on evidence from the Post Office’s Horizon IT system which has now been found to be unreliable.

These cases caused an enormous miscarriage of justice affecting postmasters across the UK. The impact of this debacle resulted in many postmasters losing their jobs, going bankrupt and in some cases being sent to prison or taking their own lives. 

A new press release from the Insolvency Service is seeking information from postmasters who believe they may have been made bankrupt due to the Horizon IT system. This relates to cases where postmasters were made bankrupt by the Post Office Limited and also where postmasters may have petitioned for their own bankruptcy or made a bankruptcy application to Office of the Adjudicator.

The Official Receiver, acting as the Trustee/Trustee ex-officio in bankruptcy, is now undertaking enquiries to identify these cases and investigate whether these bankruptcy orders should be reviewed. Anyone affected by the Horizon discrepancies are being asked to contact the Insolvency Service in the first instance.