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The government will offer compensation to Post Office Capture victims – while refusing to rule out blanket exoneration for those convicted.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said his department is “working at pace” and is committed to providing redress as quickly as possible.

Capture accounting software, which predates the scandal-hit Horizon IT system, was used by sub-postmasters in their branches between 1992 and 1999.

Under Horizon, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015.

Earlier this year the government-commissioned Kroll report found there was a “reasonable likelihood” that Capture caused accounting losses and errors, although the report did not make any conclusions about the safety of criminal convictions.

A number of sub-postmasters were convicted of theft and false accounting while using the Capture IT system in the 1990s.

Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas
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Gareth Thomas said ministers are going to offer redress to victims

“This is the first time the government has confirmed it is going to offer redress,” Gareth Thomas told Sky News.

“We recognise that there were significant problems for some sub-postmasters, at least some of whom used the Capture software, and had real difficulties in their branches.

“We’re now going to work at pace across government, and with the Post Office and sub-postmasters directly, to try to understand how many people were affected and how we can offer redress most effectively going forward.”

He insisted that once as much information as possible had been received from the Post Office the government would “be able to work through on a [redress] scheme”.

When asked repeatedly, however, if “blanket exoneration” was off the table, Mr Thomas refused to directly answer.

He said instead that the “first stage” was to “work with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)”.

Protestors outside the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry. Pic: PA
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Protesters outside the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry. Pic: PA

Mr Thomas added: “It’s the reason why we’ve asked the Post Office to go through all its records just to try and help us understand firstly how many people were affected in total by using Capture software, how many people saw problems in their branch, and also to try to understand how many people were then convicted.”

“That’s got to be the first stage,” he continued. “We’re working at pace and expect the Post Office to be working at a pace to make those judgements.

“And we will get that information to CCRC as soon as we can – and we’ll make a judgement from that.”

Hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted of stealing because of faults in the Horizon system, introduced after Capture, were exonerated through legislation earlier this year.

Sky News has previously revealed that the CCRC is looking into a number of Capture cases but said that the older the case, the more difficult it could be to determine.

Mr Thomas admitted he was also “worried about the level of information” available “given the length of time since Capture was used”.

He emphasised the Post Office had been instructed “as a matter of urgency” to look into its records and pass on as much information as possible.

The minister also insisted that the government has “a responsibility to work as fast as we can… and we are determined to do that”.

On potential redress schemes, the minister also said the government has learned from past mistakes on compensation.

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Signage at a Post Office branch in Westminster, London, Britain, March 12, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
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File pic: Reuters

Mr Thomas said some Horizon sub-postmasters had not been involved “early enough” in the process previously.

“That’s certainly something we don’t want to happen this time round,” he said.

“I’m now actively talking to sub-postmasters and legal representatives so that we can get redress offered ultimately as quickly as is feasible.”

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A pub a day to close this year, industry body warns as it calls for cut to tax burden

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A pub a day to close this year, industry body warns as it calls for cut to tax burden

An industry body has warned that the equivalent of more than one pub a day is set to close across Great Britain this year.

According to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), an estimated 378 venues will shut down across England, Wales and Scotland.

This would amount to more than 5,600 direct job losses, the industry body warns. It has called for a reduction in the cumulative tax and regulatory burden for the hospitality sector – including cutting business rates and beer duty.

The body – representing members that brew 90% of British beer and own more than 20,000 pubs – said such measures would slow the rate at which bars are closing.

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said that while pubs are trading well, “most of the money that goes into the till goes straight back out in bills and taxes”.

“For many, it’s impossible to make a profit, which all too often leads to pubs turning off the lights for the last time,” she said.

“When a pub closes, it puts people out of a job, deprives communities of their heart and soul, and hurts the local economy.”

She urged the government to “proceed with meaningful business rates reform, mitigate these eye-watering new employment and EPR (extended producer responsibility) costs, and cut beer duty”.

“We’re not asking for special treatment, we just want the sector’s rich potential unleashed,” she added.

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The government has said it plans to reform the current business rates system, saying in March that an interim report on the measure would be published this summer.

From April, relief on property tax – that came in following the COVID-19 pandemic – was cut from 75% to 40%, leading to higher bills for hospitality, retail and leisure businesses.

The rate of employer National Insurance Contributions also rose from 13.8% to 15% that month, and the wage threshold was lowered from £9,100 to £5,000, under measures announced by Rachel Reeves in the October budget.

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Trump fires tariff threats at more nations as EU ‘ready for all scenarios’

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Trump fires tariff threats at more nations as EU 'ready for all scenarios'

Donald Trump has revealed a list of more nations set to face delayed ‘liberation day’ tariffs from 1 August.

He has threatened tariffs of 30% on Algeria, 25% on Brunei, 30% on Iraq, 30% on Libya, 25% on Moldova and 20% on the Philippines. Sri Lanka was later told it faced a 30% duty.

Letters setting out the planned rates – and warning against retaliation – are being sent to the leaders of each country.

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They were the latest to be informed of the president‘s plans after Japan and South Korea were among the first 14 nations to be told of the rates they must pay on their general exports to the US from 1 August.

The duties are on top of sectoral tariffs, covering areas such as steel and cars, already in place.

Mr Trump further warned, on Tuesday, that a 50% tariff rate on all copper imports to the US was looming.

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He has also threatened a 200% rate on pharmaceuticals and is also expected to take aim at all imports of semiconductors too.

The European Union, America’s largest trading partner in combined trade, services and investment, is expected to get a letter within the next 48 hours unless further progress is made in continuing talks.

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Who will be positively impacted by the UK-US trade deal?

The bloc, which Mr Trump has previously claimed was created to “screw” the US, has been in negotiations with US officials for weeks and working to agree a UK-style truce by the end of the month.

The EU has retaliatory tariffs ready to deploy from 14 July but it is widely expected to delay them until such time that any heightened US duties are imposed.

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Trump to visit UK ‘in weeks’

It remains hopeful of a deal in the coming days but European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament: “We stick to our principles, we defend our interests, we continue to work in good faith, and we get ready for all scenarios.”

While the UK’s so-called deal with Mr Trump is now in force, it remains unclear whether steelmakers will have to pay a 50% tariff rate, deployed by the US against the rest of the world, as some final details on an exemption are yet to be worked out.

The rate is currently 25%.

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Nvidia wins race to become first $4trn listed company

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Nvidia wins race to become first trn listed company

Nvidia has become the first stock market-listed company to achieve a value of $4trn.

Its share price rose by more than 2% at the market open on Wall Street to reach the milestone moment.

It was achieved just over a year since Nvidia overcame the $3trn barrier and overtook Apple, in market cap terms, in the process.

The AI-focused chipmaker has been the darling of Wall Street for many years.

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The value of its shares has risen by 409,825% since its market debut in 1999.

Its status has been cemented thanks to the rush for AI technology – suffering several wobbles along the way – but nothing significant when you refer to the percentage rise of the past 26 years.

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The most recent pressures have come from the emergence of the low-cost chatbot DeepSeek and concerns for global AI demand as a result of Donald Trump’s trade war hitting growth.

Financial markets have been taking a more risk-on approach to the trade war since the delays to “liberation day” tariffs in April.

It’s explained by a market trend that’s become known as the TACO trade: Trump always chickens out.

Nvidia hits $4trn valuation
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The milestone is reported by Sky’s US partner CNBC, seen on screens at the New York Stock Exchange. Pic: Reuters

It has helped US stock markets post new record highs in recent days.

The wave of optimism is down to the fact that the president is yet to follow through with the worst of his threatened tariffs on trading partners.

Corporations are also yet to report big hits to their earnings – a fact that is also propping up demand for shares.

If Mr Trump does go all-out in his trade war, as he has now threatened from 1 August, then that $4trn market value for Nvidia – and wider stock markets – could be short-lived, at least in the short term.

But market analysts believe Nvidia’s value has further to go.

Read more from Sky News:
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Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said of its meteoric rise: “Once known for powering video games, NVIDIA has transformed into a foundational player in AI infrastructure.

“Its high-performance chips now drive everything from natural language processing to robotics, making them essential to training and deploying advanced AI models.

“Beyond hardware, its full-stack ecosystem – including software platforms and developer tools – helps companies scale AI quickly and efficiently. This end-to-end approach has positioned Nvidia as a cornerstone in a market where speed, scalability, and efficiency are critical.”

He added: “The key question is where it goes from here, and while it might seem strange for a company that’s just passed the $4trn mark, Nvidia still looks attractive.

“Growth is expected to slow, and it’s likely to lose some market share as competition and custom solutions ramp up. But trading at a relatively modest 32 times expected earnings, and over 50% top-line growth forecast this year, there’s still an attractive opportunity ahead.

“For investors, it remains a compelling way to gain exposure to the AI boom – not just as a participant, but as one of its architects.”

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