Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024

Overview of the Act

Reproduced verbatim from the Explanatory Notes published with the Act on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Explanatory Notes are prepared by the responsible government department and are not part of the Act.

The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024 will quash the convictions of sub-postmasters and others who worked, including on a voluntary basis, in post office branches (all referred to below as "postmasters") who have suffered as a consequence of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. It will quash, on a blanket basis, convictions for various theft, fraud and related offences during the period of the Horizon scandal in England and Wales.

The Act contains ten sections. Section 1: Quashing of convictions for relevant offences Section 2: Meaning of "relevant offence" Section 3: Determining when a conviction has been considered by Court of Appeal Section 4: Identification and notification of quashed convictions Section 5: Deletion of cautions for relevant offences: England and Wales Section 6: Deletion of cautions for relevant offences: Northern Ireland Section 7: Consequential provision Section 8: Power of Secretary of State to make further consequential provision Section 9: Power of Department of Justice to make further consequential provision Section 10: Interpretation Section 11: Extent and commencement Section 12: Short title