Hundreds of UK postal workers wrongly accused of fraud will have their convictions overturned

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he will introduce measures to overturn the convictions of more than 900 post office branch managers who were wrongly accused of theft or fraud because of a faulty computer system. Hundreds of postmasters were wrongly convicted of stealing between 1999 and 2015 because a faulty Post Office computer system showed that funds were missing from their shops. It is thought to be the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history. Sunak told lawmakers that a new law will be introduced to ensure that those wrongly convicted are “swiftly exonerated and compensated.” Sunak’s office acknowledged that the blanket quashing of convictions was unusual, but argued that it was justified because of the “exceptional situation.”