1. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Happy new year to you and to everyone in the chamber.

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that all people who were potentially wrongfully convicted as a result of the reported Horizon scandal are supported in coming forward if they wish for their conviction to be overturned. (S6T-01726)

The Horizon scandal is rightly causing great concern, and it is important to recognise the tireless work of campaigners who have led efforts for justice. Anyone who is wrongly convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal should have their conviction reversed and be entitled to compensation. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has already referred seven cases back to the appeal court for a fresh appeal, and in two of those cases, so far, the convictions have been overturned on appeal.

However, we are looking at what more can be done, and we are considering the idea of a pardon scheme. I am conscious that the United Kingdom Government has created a compensation scheme that requires a conviction to be reversed by an appeal court before someone can receive compensation. Therefore, today, I have written to the UK Secretary of State for Justice to ask for a meeting to discuss how best we can work together to ensure that anyone who is wrongly convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal can have their conviction reversed and still be entitled to compensation.

By the end of 2023, only 16 people in Scotland had come forward to have their conviction overturned. There are many more people who were not convicted but for whom the false accusations severely impacted their reputation, career and mental health. The full number of victims in Scotland is not yet known. What discussion has the Scottish Government had with the Crown Office and Prosecutor Fiscal Service regarding the number of people in Scotland who were potentially wrongly prosecuted? Does it expect to be liable for the cost of compensation?

Mr Choudhury is quite right to point out the massive personal impact on all the people who have been affected. The Scottish Government will have discussions with a full range of justice partners, and it is imperative that, in the Parliament, we stand up for everyone in Scotland who has been affected by the Horizon scandal.

It might be useful to quickly intimate the proactive steps that have already been taken by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which, on receipt of information on people who might be affected, has written proactively with information to about 80 people who could be affected and has encouraged people to make applications to the criminal conviction review body.

It is important that we send out a message to those who believe that they are a victim of a miscarriage of justice that they should make an application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is continuing its work. It is important to say that the appeal court is continuing its work, too.

The actions of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission are the first systemic effort of any jurisdiction in the UK to contact all the individuals who have potentially been affected.

I was expecting an answer on whether we are liable for compensation.

The Post Office has set aside £244 million in compensation for potential victims. Many victims have now died without having been able to claim the compensation or to clear their names, yet Fujitsu, the company that created the Horizon system, has not faced any financial implication and has reportedly been awarded more than 150 Government contracts since. What discussion is the Scottish Government having with the UK Government regarding the responsibility of Fujitsu in the scandal?

As I intimated in my original answer, I have written to the UK Government today about how we can work together and take matters forward.

On the issue of compensation, it is important to recognise that anyone who is convicted because of the failings of the Horizon information technology system can apply for compensation via the scheme that has been set up by the UK Government. It is important that we encourage and support people to do so. The scheme is available for anyone to apply to if they have been a victim of a miscarriage of justice, where their convictions were reversed on appeal out of time, or if they have spent time in prison as a result of a wrongful conviction or charge.

Does the Cabinet secretary agree that any conviction that resulted from the introduction of the flawed Horizon system must be unsafe and flawed and should be quashed? Will the Scottish Government, working with the UK Government, consider introducing emergency legislation, if necessary, so that the greatest miscarriage of justice of our time can be redressed? Finally, in order to ensure that everyone whose life has been ruined gets compensation, will the cabinet secretary consider taking proactive steps, either by herself or through an agency, to reach out to every sub-postmaster and sub-postmistress in Scotland who might have been affected, to make sure that they get the compensation that they richly deserve?

As I intimated in my original answer, the Scottish Government is open to taking further action. First and foremost, we want to take the action that will be most effective for those here, in Scotland, who have been impacted by the scandal, and we have an open mind about the best way forward. We will, of course, work with the UK Government, which has particular responsibilities in that regard.

I intimate again to Mr Ewing that the action taken by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has been proactive. In spring 2020, the commission decided, as a matter of policy, to make all reasonable efforts to locate those who might have been affected and to encourage them to apply to the commission to have their convictions overturned. That is the gateway to ensuring that people receive the appropriate compensation.

I assure Mr Ewing and other members that we are looking at a wide range of issues because, first and foremost, we want to play our part in standing up for the people in Scotland who have been affected. It is our responsibility to play our part in helping to right the wrong that was undertaken by Post Office Limited and the scandal that surrounds it.

It appears that, during his three years as justice secretary, Humza Yousaf did not hold a single meeting about the Post Office Horizon scandal. That scandal is now firmly on the agenda because of a television drama.

Former police officer Mary Philp was not convicted but went to her grave wrongly accused of theft. Her daughter Myra, who has campaigned doggedly for years, wants to know when all Scottish victims will have their convictions quashed and their names cleared, and she points out that the powers for that lie with Scottish ministers.

I will certainly endeavour, on behalf of this Government, to work collaboratively to ensure that everyone in Scotland who has been affected can access justice and can right any wrong that has been done.

It is unfortunate that Mr Findlay has sought to overly politicise the matter when the problem has been in the making since 1999 and was caused by a UK-wide body—the Post Office—that has been scrutinised under reserved powers by successive UK Government ministers. He is correct in saying that the Post Office cannot prosecute in Scotland. Only the Crown Office, which is independent of politicians, can prosecute in Scotland. If the scandal shows us one thing, it is the value of having an independent prosecution system, not one in which a vested interest such as the Post Office is able to pursue prosecutions. Hundreds of people are now living with the consequences of that, not only in Scotland but across the UK.