Hope is on the Horizon

Post Office tech scandal victims call for pardon as they pray long nightmare may end. Prime Minister Sunak shamed by television drama into saying theft convictions may be quashed

- SALLY HIND

A SCOTS postmaster convicted in the Horizon scandal has called on the UK and Scottish governments to pardon all victims as he faces a fresh court battle.

Robert Thomson, who was labelled a thief over shortfalls identified by the Post Office's faulty accounting system at his Clackmannanshire branch, is one of several Scots due back in court in days in a long-running battle to prove their innocence.

As Prime Minister Rishi Sunak considers measures to quash the convictions of hundreds of sub-postmasters First Minister Humza Yousaf has said a mass exoneration "should be considered in all seriousness".

Ministers held talks on the scandal yesterday as the FM and PM spoke out in support of a bid to strip former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells of her CBE - with a petition gathering one million signatures in the wake of an explosive TV drama.

Robert, 64, said: "This is big news. If Sunak is starting to make noises then hopefully we'll finally start to get somewhere.

"We just need to know whether we'll all be treated the same way or if Scotland will have to fight their own corner again.

"In Scotland, we've been in the dark for so long. It felt like we were stuck in a hole and not getting any daylight.

"But hopefully, with Sunak getting involved, all of the cases can be dealt with together. We need to be in the same boat together. The TV show has brought the Horizon scandal right to the top of the hill.

"I just hope there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.