Postmasters await full compensation from Horizon scandal scheme

Two former postmasters, Shazia Sadiq and Teju Adedayo, are still waiting for full compensation from the Horizon scandal redress scheme, more than two years after first speaking publicly about their cases. The scheme, set up to compensate the hundreds of post office branch managers wrongly convicted due to faulty Horizon accounting software, has so far paid out 1.6 billion pounds to over 12,900 postmasters, according to the government. But Sadiq and Adedayo have received only a fraction of what they say they are owed.

Sadiq, who ran three post offices in Newcastle, was accused of stealing thousands of pounds. She told Newsnight that she has received only 10 percent of her claim, the same as when she first appeared on the programme. The process, including an independent panel review, left her with three acute mental health crises. 'I'm not the person I was going into this,' she said. 'Coming from a South Asian background, we use the word himath, which is core strength gumption. And it's all been eroded.'

Adedayo, who has been fighting for over 20 years, said she has received 40 percent. She described losing properties and being unable to work because of a criminal record. 'I tried to look for employment at one stage. I managed to get one. But when they were going to do the DBS, I had to explain that I've got a criminal record and I was walked off the premises on the same day,' she said. Her pension claim has been met with a zero offer from the scheme.

Both women expressed frustration with the pace of redress. The Department for Business and Trade said it was 'striving to deliver justice as swiftly as possible' and had given claimants opportunities to challenge offers via independent panels. But the scheme is due to close on 31 December this year, adding urgency. Adedayo said: 'Help. I need this to end. It's been going on too long. Too long. It's too much and it's too long.'

The Horizon scandal, described as Britain's most widespread miscarriage of justice, saw more than 700 postmasters convicted between 2000 and 2014. A public inquiry has been held, and the government has made interim payments to some claimants. However, Sadiq and Adedayo remain among those without a final settlement. The post office minister, Blair McDougall, has been in post since July and said in October he was working to speed up compensation. The women say it is not coming fast enough.