Post Office: Executive calls for UK law to apply in Northern Ireland

The first and deputy first ministers and justice minister have called for a law to reverse the convictions of sub-postmasters to also apply in NI.

They have written a joint letter to Kevin Hollinrake, the UK minister for enterprise, markets and small business.

The law is expected to come into effect by the end of July and will apply to convictions in England and Wales.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill said NI sub-postmasters should be treated the same as those in England and Wales.

"We have written to Kevin Hollinrake today setting out our clear opinion that any legislation to reverse the convictions of sub-postmasters must also apply here, given that postal services are a reserved matter and the compensation schemes are UK-wide," she said.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it would not be possible for the executive to take its own legislation through the assembly before its summer recess.

"Our sub-postmasters have suffered enough, it is simply not acceptable to require them to go through a further court process," she said.

Justice Minister Naomi Long said that the UK government including Northern Ireland in its legislation would be "the fastest legislative solution and one that will see those affected in Northern Ireland receiving equitable treatment with their counterparts in the rest of the UK".

Hundreds of sub-postmasters across the UK were prosecuted after faulty computer software calculated that money was missing from post office branches.

Some people went to prison while many were financially ruined.

The scandal has been called the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history.

Although campaigners won the right to have their cases reconsidered, as of January 2024, only 95 convictions had been overturned.

In January, the government announced it would seek to reverse all convictions resulting from the scandal, but it was not clear if it would apply in Northern Ireland, which at that stage remained without a devolved government.

Power-sharing was restored at Stormont in early February.

Speaking on Thursday, Michael Madden, who represents sub-postmasters in Northern Ireland, said he was concerned that if the legislation had to go through Stormont it would slow the process down.

Since the return of the executive, there's already a long list of things to do for ministers after 24 months of political paralysis.

"Some of my clients have been going through this for over 20 years, further delays will only add to their ongoing distress," he said.