Reacting to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s statement that new primary legislation will be introduced to exonerate convicted postmasters, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said:
“It is incredible how long it has taken successive governments to address the clear injustice faced by hundreds of honest, hard-working people at the Post Office.
“It shouldn’t take a TV drama to get the government to do the right thing to address a manifest injustice on this scale.
“The severity and scale of the scandal was likely made much worse by the economic model chosen for the Post Office – a public corporation with the government as the sole shareholder, that was told to chase profits and allowed to take risks with unproven, outsourced technology while Ministers washed their hands of responsibility.
“No one was in charge, no one cared and when it all went wrong, no-one was responsible. We need models of ownership that put the public interest and accountability first. The scandal also raises questions about the obsession from all government parties with outsourcing and avoiding responsibility.
“Of course, it is right that every wrongful conviction is overturned as quickly as possible, but the fact that the government has been forced into bringing forward emergency legislation that overrides the justice process just underlines how numerous Ministers let this tragedy drift on into a full-blown crisis.
“This is not the first time government has been found wanting when the lives of people have been turned upside down by failings in public administration. Too many people are still waiting for justice, from Grenfell residents to infected blood scandal victims, to nuclear test veterans.
“Every one of these injustices needs resolving as soon as possible.”