Credit: William - stock.adobe.com

Justice Secretary Angela Constance told a cabinet meeting that the UK government was “inexplicably” refusing to quash the convictions of sub-postmasters in Scotland, even though it is extending the new legislation to Northern Ireland.

UK enterprise minister Kevin Hollinrake said it was more appropriate for Holyrood to legislate, given Scotland’s separate legal system.

The UK bill will give those affected the option to settle for £600,000.

Ms Constance said: “We fully support the extension of this bill to cover Northern Ireland, but it is outrageous that the UK government has declined to also include Scotland.

“Sub-postmasters north of the border will be the only victims in the UK not covered by the legislation at Westminster.”

She suggested it was a “betrayal of Scotland’s Horizon victims for UK ministers to behave in this manner” and that the UK government decision was “petty political point-scoring”.

A UK government spokesperson said: “Justice is a devolved matter in Scotland so it is right that Scottish ministers remain accountable for decisions taken in Scotland.

“The Scottish government has already indicated that they are bringing forward legislation, and we will continue to support them in developing proposals to overturn all convictions relating to the Horizon scandal in Scotland.”