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SNP must act on Post Office prosecution, say Labour

LABOUR has vowed to act if SNP “inaction” on wrongfully prosecuted Scottish subpostmasters continues.

About 100 subpostmasters are thought to have been convicted in Scottish courts based on flawed information provided by Fujitsu’s Horizon accounting system.

The inquiry continues into Post Office and government complicity in the scandal, which saw as many as 900 wrongful prosecutions for embezzlement and fraud across Britain.

Britain’s Conservative government is now rushing unprecedented legislation through Parliament to produce a mass quashing of the convictions — a law which would not apply in Scotland.

SNP MP Marion Fellows accused the British government of “politicising” the issue by not taking a “four-nations approach” and called for Scotland to be included, despite all Scottish convictions having been conducted separately under Scots law.

The SNP has yet to set out any timetable at Holyrood for action to quash Scottish convictions en masse, sparking growing concern that — with the long summer recess approaching and an autumn general election widely expected — Scottish victims may not see justice this year, unlike their comrades elsewhere.

Vowing to table his own legislation if necessary, Scottish Labour’s Michael Marra commented: “Responsibility for dealing with this scandal lies squarely with the Scottish government, but even after years of inaction the SNP still has no clear plan to deliver its own legislation. 

 “It is shameful that the SNP is attempting to override devolution and pass the buck for this scandal on to the UK government.

“We need urgent action to overturn these convictions and address this monumental injustice.

 “Scottish subpostmasters must not be left behind as a result of SNP dawdling — if the government fails to act, Labour will.”

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