Widow slams Post Office for delayed, 'less than half'  redressal

Widow of the former post master, whose compensation arrived days after his death, has slammed Post Office for delaying the compensation as well as for offering an "utter disgrace" of the redressal.

Terry Walter was one of 555 sub-postmasters who won a legal battle against the Post Office in 2019. He was part of the GLO Group Litigation Order (GLO) Scheme established after the 2019 High Court win.

The scheme's aim is to restore sub-postmasters to the financial position they would have been in had they not become victims of faulty Horizon software which caused false accounting shortfalls.

Walter had his Post Office contract terminated in 2008. He and Janet lost their business and then their family home. They moved in to rented accommodation where they lived for the past 15 years.

Janet said Terry's claim was put forward in February 2024 and it has taken a year to receive an offer for redress from the government.

Terry passed away in February, a week before a letter arrived offering "less than half" of his original claim for financial redress.

"It should have been a 40-day turnaround of an offer. And it's taken 12 months to receive an offer, an offer which came after Terry had passed away.

"They wanted a stroke report back in September to drag it out a bit more, to see if it's being caused by all the stress from the Post Office."

"I think it contributed considerably to the whole state of him.

"I've told them I will not accept [the offer]," Janet tells Sky News. "I think it's an utter disgrace. Not when I look at him and I think, no, what you've been through - I won't just take anything and go away.

"It's a scandal what they did with the Horizon system, it's a scandal now because of the length of time it's taken [on redress]."

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said, "We are sorry to hear of Terry's death and our thoughts are with Janet and the rest of his family and friends."

They added they have now issued 407 offers to the 425 GLO claimants "who have submitted full claims" and are "making offers to 89 per cent of GLO claimants within 40 working days of receipt of a full claim, with over half of eligible claimants having now settled their claim."

The DBT also said it has "doubled" the amount of payments under the Labour government to "provide postmasters with full and fair redress".