Beth Rigby: Questions remain after Post Office scandal – but Rishi Sunak has taken himself out of firing line
When nine million people watch a TV drama that then provokes a national outpouring of anger over the postmasters’ fight for justice, a prime minister would do well to acknowledge the public mood and act.
And that’s exactly what we have seen Rishi Sunak do this week.
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On Monday, Tory MP David Davis, who has been fighting on this issue for years, publicly instructed Number 10 to deal with this scandal in weeks rather than months.
And 48 hours later, Mr Sunak was at the despatch box for the first Prime Minister’s Questions of 2024 to announce the government would introduce new laws to ensure hundreds of convictions will be overturned on a blanket basis, with compensation planned by the end of the year.
“We will make sure that the truth comes to light, we right the wrongs of the past and the victims get the justice they deserve,” he told MPs.
The government confirmed it would table that legislation in weeks, and underlined its pledge of swift exoneration by telling the victims of the Horizon scandal all they needed to do was “sign a statement to the effect that they did not commit the crimes of which they’re accused to get compensated – and their name cleared”.
“I do not pretend to the House that this is a foolproof device,” postal minister Kevin Hollinrake told MPs.
“But it is a proportionate one which respects the ordeal with which these people have already suffered.”
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For the prime minister, still suffering the contagion of the Johnson and Truss administrations, there was little option but to act fast.
He simply could not let the string of wrongful prosecutions and convictions of postmasters that began during the Cameron years come back to haunt him.
It is true acting decisively is easier when the House is united, but it is also true, after a rough run around the Rwanda deportation plan, Mr Sunak at last has something to lead on that he might hope could even win him some credit with voters who don’t appear to like him much.
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But the news today is just the end of the beginning of this scandal.
As victims are finally compensated and exonerated, attention in Westminster is now turning to those in the Post Office who pursued this claims and the IT giant Fujitsu, which designed the faulty software.
MPs were already today pressing ministers on whether the Japanese software company should help foot the compensation bill, while there are growing calls for it to be stripped of public contracts.
With the victims of this scandal now getting justice, attention will shift to who might be held responsible for what has happened and what form potential sanctions might take.
There will be questions to answer by ministers during the Cameron years, not least Lib Dem leader and former postal affairs minister Ed Davey, as well as executives at the Post Office and Fujitsu.
But in taking action so swiftly this week, the current prime minister has moved decisively to take himself and his administration out of the firing line.
Politics
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
Read more on this story:
‘Fix care before assisted dying legislation’
Why assisted dying is controversial – and where it’s already legal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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