Horizon victim paralysed after ordeal offered 15 per cent of compensation claim

A 'devastated' victim of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal who was temporarily paralysed after the stress of her ordeal has been offered 15% of her compensation claim.

Janet Skinner, 53, was wrongly convicted of false accounting in 2007 and sentenced to nine months in prison after the faulty software said £59,000 had gone missing from her branch account in Bransholme, Hull. She has now received an offer which amounts to a fraction of her original claim.

She said: "I was absolutely devastated and could not believe what I was reading because of the 15 percent offer. My claim was done by experts, not just numbers pulled together. If it had not been done professionally, I could understand it. But I had five medical reports done, and an occupational health report, and they came back with that offer."

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In March, the Mirror told how another victim of the Horizon scandal, ex-postmaster David Farry, was paid less than 50 percent of what he expected. One of the original 555 victims of the faulty Horizon computer software system to launch legal action for compensation, he lost around £1m.

The government said it made every effort to make full and fair offers to all claimants. But according to Ms Skinner's lawyer, all the high-value complex claims are being fought "tooth and nail".

"They've taken a particularly cruel approach to Janet's case," said Simon Goldberg, from Simons Muirhead Burton.

The mother-of-two lost her home, her livelihood and served two months of a nine month prison sentence in Feb, 2007. She ended up in hospital when her body 'broke down' in August 2008, and was paralysed from the neck down.

She had to learn to walk again, but still experiences severe health issues, especially in cold weather. She intends to fight for a fitting compensation pay out.

Legal restraints mean she is unable to detail the offer of compensation which has been made.

But she said: "I could do self care in prison, but I could not do that in hospital. I lost all personal dignity, I had to eat using a knife and fork with sponges and had to be hoisted into the bath.

"I had to completely depend on other people and it is not nice when your independence is taken away. I have rejected the offer of compensation and am awaiting a response."

Her son helps with visits to the bathroom and she often has to get down the stairs on her bottom.

Her conviction was quashed in 2021 but it has taken more than four and a half years to prepare her claim, including being asked to submit five medical reports.

A hearing took place earlier this year where, according to her legal team, the Post Office finally accepted these expert reports, which concluded her ill health had been triggered by the extreme stress that she had suffered.

The biggest contested issues include her loss of earnings and future care costs.

The Department for Business and Trade recently took over responsibility for delivering redress for sub-postmasters whose convictions were overturned by the courts, including Ms Skinner's case.

A spokesperson said it did not comment on individual cases, but that it took every effort to make full and fair offers.

An independent dispute resolution process was available to all applicants who were not content with their offer, they said.

More than £1bn worth of compensation has already been paid out to more than 8,000 victims.

The bulk of these payouts has been in the form of uncontested fixed payouts, either £75,000 or £600,000 depending on the severity of the case.

Mr Goldberg told the BBC that he has written to Darren Jones MP, who he says was a champion of the wronged sub-postmasters while in opposition.

"The only way to resolve this is political pressure from the very top," said Mr Goldberg.

Ms Skinner has already rejected her offer and says, if need be, she is prepared to go to court if she does not receive sufficient redress for everything that she's been through