Post Office Horizon scandal: Former sub-postmistress in Scotland has wrongful conviction quashed as Alan Bates rejects 'derisory' offer

The latest clearing of a Post Office Horizon conviction in Scotland comes as campaigner Alan Bates described the UK government’s compensation offer as ‘derisory’

A former Post Office sub-postmistress caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal has had her wrongful conviction quashed.

Aleid Kloosterhuis was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment after she pleaded guilty at Campbeltown Sheriff Court in 2012 to one charge of embezzlement. Her case was one of six referred to the High Court by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) in November 2022 over potential miscarriages of justice.

Her conviction was quashed at an Appeal Court hearing in Edinburgh on Thursday, a court official confirmed.

Pedestrians walk past a Post office sign. Picture: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

Ravinder Naga is also appealing against conviction and the case was continued to a procedural hearing in April.

More than 700 Post Office branch managers around the UK were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their shops.

About 100 subpostmasters in Scotland were convicted after they were wrongly accused of embezzling money in the Horizon scandal, and First Minister Humza Yousaf has pledged to get “justice” for those involved.

Many around the UK have had their convictions overturned in recent years.

When referring the cases to the High Court in 2022, the SCCRC concluded those who had pleaded guilty did so in circumstances that were, or could be said to be, clearly prejudicial to them.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said legislation will be introduced to exonerate sub-postmasters convicted in England and Wales and he has vowed to get “justice and compensation” for victims.

The Scottish Government is working on its own legislation to exonerate those wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal.

Former sub-postmasters Allen Reynolds, Nilufar Ali and Davinder Bangay were also separately cleared of their convictions for theft or fraud, each dating back to between 2008 and 2011.

The quashing of convictions comes as Post Office campaigner Alan Bates, whose two-decade fight for justice inspired the ITV series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, said he would be turning down the “offensive” and “cruel” offer made by the UK Government.

Downing Street said Mr Bates, who claimed the offer was only a sixth of what he had requested, “deserves the right level of compensation” for his suffering.

Labour said it was “hugely concerned” that former sub-postmasters wronged in the scandal were not getting the financial redress to which they are entitled.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Thursday: “Alan Bates is a distinguished campaigner and deserves the right level of compensation for the suffering he’s been through. That’s the same for all sub-postmasters.

“Claims are looked at by external lawyers who look at the evidence and provide advice to officials and now anyone who is not content with their offer is eventually able to take their claim to an independent panel who can decide.”

Mr Bates told the Telegraph on Wednesday: “‘Full and fair’ might be his majesty’s government’s interpretation, but in reality the offer is derisory, offensive and after all this time, yes, cruel.

“I will absolutely be turning this offer for financial redress down. It’s just a terrible way to treat human beings and I have heard from several subpostmasters who have received similarly derisory offers.”