This page contains information on the progress made by the government in identifying convictions imposed in England and Wales which were quashed by the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024 on 24 May 2024.

In February 2024, the Post Office and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) made the Ministry of Justice aware of a total of 944 records for possible individuals who may have been convicted because of the faulty Horizon accounting system. Of these 944 records, 40 did not include sufficient data for us to trace the individual’s conviction.  Examples of insufficient data include where records do not contain key information such as a full name or date of birth. Our previous Management Information release in January reported this number as 46. This was incorrect and should have been 40. The additional individuals in this group are individuals who have self-identified as described below.

We have now assessed 100% of the 944 records received from the Post Office and CPS in February 2024 where there is sufficient data to trace any relevant convictions.

In addition to the records received from the Post Office and the CPS in February 2024, 54 individuals have identified themselves through contacting the Ministry of Justice Post Office convictions casework team or through the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme website. As there is no time limit for individuals to self-identify, this number may continue to increase over time. Of these 54 individuals, we have not been able to trace a relevant conviction to consider for 5 individuals.

As of 7 February there are a total of 953 individual cases, either received from the Post Office and CPS in February 2024 or from individuals who have self-identified, that have been or are being considered. As of 7 February, we have assessed 99% of these total cases.

The 1% of individuals that remain to be assessed of the total 953 individual cases are all individuals who have self-identified and were not included in the records received by the Post Office and the CPS in February 2024.  For these individuals, no information had been previously provided by Post Office or CPS, therefore the MoJ Post Office Convictions casework team had to retrieve new data from multiple sources to allow them to assess whether they have convictions in scope of the legislation. Due to how long ago these convictions took place, this has taken more time to complete. We are working to complete the remaining assessments as soon as possible.

The Royal Mail Group recently informed the Ministry of Justice of an additional group of individuals who may have convictions quashed by the Act. These individuals were discovered following a review of historic prosecutions carried out by Royal Mail to identify whether any may have been affected by the Act. This group contains individuals who were not already known to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice is gathering further information on these individuals to enable us to assess whether they have convictions in scope of the legislation. We will provide an update on this in our next publication.

The table below contains information on assessments made as well as letters sent, as not every individual will receive a letter. This is explained in greater detail in the explanatory notes below the table.

	10 January 2025 to 7 February 2025	Total to date (July 2024* to 7 February 2025)
Total number of individuals whose convictions have been assessed (1)	13	946
The number of individuals identified as having at least one conviction quashed by the Act. (2)	7	589
Number of individuals who have been sent a letter (2a)	8	557
The number of individuals assessed and written to (or due to be written to), requesting further information to help identify if their convictions are in scope of the Act. (3)	4	189
Number of individuals who have been sent a letter (3a)	6	150
The number of individuals confirmed as having no convictions quashed by the Act. (4)	2	168
Individuals who only have convictions for an offence committed outside the time period specified by the Act and/or individuals who only have convictions for an offence other than those specified in the Act. (4a)	2	25
Individuals who only have convictions imposed after the Act came into force (4b)	0	0
Individuals who only have convictions where the prosecution was not brought by the Post Office or the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales (4c)	0	16
Individuals who only have convictions already considered by the Court of Appeal (4d)	0	19
Individuals who only have convictions already quashed by the courts (4e)	0	101
Individuals for whom a not guilty verdict was recorded for the offence(s) being considered (4f)	0	7
Total number of convictions identified as quashed by the Act (5)	22	2130

*MoJ identified the first individuals with at least one conviction as in scope of the Act w/c 22 July.

**The figures in the table above may change where a case has been reassessed following additional information being provided.

The figures in this release are from a live system and may differ from information released previously. The counting methodologies for all figures were updated in November 2024. Differences may also exist between figures due to differences in time data was extracted. Letters returned as undeliverable are removed from the totals of 2a and 3a.

What the data means

(1) This number represents all individuals whose convictions have been assessed.

(2) Individuals identified as having at least one conviction quashed by the Act will be eligible for the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme. If the individual is deceased their personal representative may be eligible to submit a claim. Once we have confirmed that someone has a conviction quashed by the Act, we send them a letter to notify them of this as soon as possible. The number of these individuals we have sent letters to can be found at (2a). Letters are sent out in batches and there may be a small delay between assessments being made and letters being sent. There are currently 31 individuals with quashed convictions that we cannot write to as we have been unable to confirm their current address.

(3) This number refers to individuals whose convictions appear to be out of scope but may be able to provide further information to help us identify whether their convictions are in scope of the Act. We are writing to these individuals to request this information. The number of these individuals we have sent letters to can be found at (3a). Letters are sent out in batches and there may be a small delay between assessments being made and letters being sent. There are currently 38 individuals that we cannot write to in this category as we have been unable to confirm their current address.

(4) This number refers to individuals who have not had any convictions quashed by the Act in England and Wales and provides a breakdown of this category into the following reasons:

• The conviction was for an offence committed outside the time period specified by the Act or the conviction was for an offence other than those specified in the Act. (4a)

• The conviction was imposed after the Act came into force (which was on 24 May 2024). (4b)

• The prosecution was not brought by the Post Office or the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales. (4c*)

• The conviction has already been considered by the Court of Appeal. 4d)

• The conviction has already been quashed by the courts. (4e)

• A not guilty verdict was recorded for the offence(s) being considered (4f)

*Prosecutions brought by Royal Mail Group Limited are included within the Act’s definition of “the Post Office”.

We do not write letters to individuals in this group unless they have self-identified and asked us to consider their convictions.

(5) Individuals may have more than one conviction that falls within scope of the Act. The total number of convictions is therefore higher than the number of individuals who have been assessed as having at least one conviction in scope of the Act.

Any convictions given in Northern Ireland are within scope of the Act but are not covered by this publication. Any convictions imposed in Scotland are not covered by the Act and are considered under separate legislation.

How we identify convictions in scope

The Act sets out 5 conditions alongside other criteria.

The 5 conditions which must be met for a conviction to have been quashed cover: offence date; offence type; that the individual was working in a Post Office or carrying on a Post Office business at the time of the alleged offence; that the offence was allegedly committed in connection with carrying on or working on Post Office business; and whether Horizon was installed in the branch the individual was working in at the time.

The Ministry of Justice Post Office convictions casework team are conducting complex checks to identify whether individuals identified to us have any convictions that are within scope of the Act. In order to limit the burden on individuals to provide information themselves to show that their convictions are in scope of the Act, we are checking multiple data sources to obtain information on which convictions meet the Act’s criteria. This includes records from the Police National Computer, Post Office Limited, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Due to inconsistencies discovered between the different data sources, the process of identifying quashed convictions is taking longer than initially expected.

Once the casework team have verified that each conviction meets the Act’s criteria, they will write to individuals to notify them of this. In some instances, these letters may ask the individual for more information so that their convictions can be fully assessed. In some cases we have assessed a conviction in scope but are unable to contact the individual because we have been unable to confirm their current address. Even where we cannot contact an individual, their criminal records will be amended to reflect the relevant quashed conviction(s).

If you have not yet received a letter and believe you have an eligible conviction, we encourage you to register here or contact the casework team by email at: PostOfficeConvictions@justice.gov.uk. This information will be shared with the convictions casework team who will confirm whether the individual’s convictions are already being considered and - if they were not previously known to the team - will commence the collation of data and assessment.

Data on Horizon-related financial redress can be found here.