Post Office offers compensation to Horizon IT victims over name and address leak

Payments of up to £5,000 to be made to hundreds of sub-postmasters whose details were published online

Hundreds of former sub-postmasters will reportedly be compensated by the Post Office after it accidentally leaked their names and addresses in June 2024. According to the BBC, the Post Office has confirmed that individual payouts will be capped at £5,000 although higher claims may still be pursued. It comes almost a year after 555 victims of the Horizon IT scandal had their personal details published on a website. In a statement provided to the public broadcaster, the Post Office said victims would receive £5,000 or £3,500 depending on whether the address published was current. The statement said: “We have written to all named individuals either directly, or via their solicitors. “If there are any individuals whose name was impacted by last year’s breach, but who have not received information about the payment for some reason, they can contact us or ask their solicitors if they have legal representation.” The law firm Freeths told the BBC that 348 clients who had their data breached had already received payment. “We welcome the progress we have made with this case, but there is still a long way to go to recognise the devastating impact of this breach for those affected,” said Will Richmond-Coggan, a lawyer at Freeths. The Post Office was contacted for comment by PA Media.