Campaigners: DWP slow to start subpostmaster prosecutions review

The Department for Work and Pensions has not appointed an independent reviewer or finalised terms of reference for a review of about 100 prosecutions of subpostmasters, nearly 18 months after ministers announced the probe on 27 February 2025. A freedom of information request by campaigner Tim McCormack revealed the delay.

In response to the request, the DWP said the appointment process is ongoing, that terms of reference remain subject to stakeholder engagement and ministerial clearance, and that the reviewer’s name will be published in a ministerial statement once agreed. The department did not provide a confirmed publication date.

Campaigners and lawyers representing former subpostmasters criticised the delay. Peer Prem Sikka called the pace “disgraceful”, saying the pause prolongs hardship for postmasters and their families and adding, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Peer James Arbuthnot criticised published job details for the reviewer that limit the role to 30 days and exclude examination of individual cases, arguing those constraints would make the exercise ineffective. He said he intends to work with colleagues in Parliament to press for action.

Neil Hudgell of Hudgell Solicitors, which represents hundreds of victims, described the delay as “beggars belief” and said his firm is carrying out investigations and preparing cases for referral to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The DWP said it has recovered material and reviewed relevant files but to date has not identified documentation showing Horizon data was essential to its prosecutions. The department also said it will not review criminal convictions. The prosecutions cited by the DWP were largely linked to alleged welfare-related fraud, including allegations such as order book fraud.

The review follows the wider Post Office Horizon scandal, in which faults in the Horizon IT system led to account shortfalls and wrongful prosecutions of branch staff. More than 700 convictions that relied on Horizon data were overturned through an act of Parliament in May 2024. Campaigners and lawyers have warned that prosecutions involving various branch systems before Horizon may also need scrutiny.

Campaigners say the lack of a named independent reviewer and the absence of final terms of reference undermine confidence in the review process and leave affected former subpostmasters without clarity on whether their cases will be examined. The DWP did not supply a timeline for when the review will begin.