Postmasters Impacted By Horizon Who May Have Been Made Bankrupt

4th August 2021

The Insolvency Service is seeking information from postmasters who believe they may have been made bankrupt due to the Horizon IT system.

The Court of Appeal and Crown Court have quashed the convictions of a number of former postmasters who were prosecuted using evidence from Post Office's Horizon IT system, which is now known to have been unreliable. The Post Office has contacted postmasters it has previously prosecuted to assist them in potentially appealing their convictions, should they wish.

We are also aware that in some instances, postmasters were made bankrupt by the Post Office Limited, which have may have been as a result of the financial discrepancies reported, incorrectly, by the Horizon IT system. Furthermore, due to the financial impact of the situation, some postmasters may have petitioned for their own bankruptcy or made a bankruptcy application to Office of the Adjudicator.

The Official Receiver, acting as the Trustee/Trustee ex-officio in bankruptcy, is now undertaking enquiries to identify these cases, in order to investigate whether these bankruptcy orders should be reviewed.

If you have been subject to a bankruptcy / adjudicator or sequestration order since 2000, resided in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and believe you were impacted by the Horizon discrepancies, please contact the Insolvency Service via Horizoncases@insolvency.gov.uk.

Please ensure you provide the following information:

full name;
date of birth;
contact details;
court / bankruptcy reference number relating to your bankruptcy (if available);
where your bankruptcy / adjudicator or sequestration order was made, i.e. England/Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland; and
a brief overview of how you were affected.

If you were subject to a bankruptcy / sequestration order in Scotland or Northern Ireland, we will forward your details to the appropriate bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Read about the terrible background to this story HERE

See the Private Eye Report setting out the background - Pdf 7 pages