Beth Rigby: Questions remain after Postal Service scandal, but Rishi Sunak is out of the line of fire | Politics news

When nine million people watch a televised drama which then sparks a national outburst of anger over postmasters' fight for justice, the Prime Minister would do well to take note of the public mood and act.

And that's exactly what we saw Rishi Sunak do this week.

The prime minister was accused of seeking “glory” through the scandal – live news

A Tory MP on Monday David Davieswho has been fighting the issue for years, has publicly instructed Number 10 to deal with the scandal in weeks, not months.

And 48 hours later, Mr Sunak was at the box for the first Prime Minister's Questions of 2024 to announce that the Government would introduce new laws to ensure hundreds of convictions will be overturned in their entiretycompensation is planned by the end of the year.

“We will make sure the truth comes out, we will right the wrongs of the past, and the victims will get the justice they deserve,” he told MPs.

The government confirmed it would introduce the law in a few weeks and underlined its promise of speedy vindication, telling victims of the Horizon scandal they only needed to “sign a statement saying they did not commit the crimes they are” re-accused to receive compensation – and their name is cleared.'

“I am not arguing before the House that this is an infallible device,” Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake told MPs.

“But it's proportionate, which respects the trials these people have already endured.”

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For a prime minister still suffering from the contagion Johnson and Rafter farm administration, there was no other option but to act quickly.

He simply could not allow a series of wrongful prosecutions and convictions of postmasters that began during Cameron the years come back to haunt him.

Indeed, it is decidedly easier to act when the House is united, but it is also true that after the brutal treatment of the deportation plan to Rwanda, Mr. Sunak finally has something to lead, which he hopes may even win him the credit of voters who , it seems they don't like him very much.

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But today's news is only the end of the beginning of this scandal.

With the victims finally compensated and vindicated, attention in Westminster now turns to those postal workers who made the claims and IT giant Fujitsu, which developed the faulty software.

MPs have already pressed ministers today over whether the Japanese software company should foot the compensation bill, amid calls for it to deprived of government contracts.

With the victims of this scandal now receiving justice, attention will shift to who may be responsible for what happened and what form possible sanctions may take.

Cameron's years in office will have questions to be answered by ministers, not least Lib Dem leader and former post office secretary Ed Davey, as well as the heads of the Post Office and Fujitsu.

But by taking action so quickly this week, the current prime minister has decisively removed himself and his administration from the line of fire.