Credit: William - stock.adobe.com

More than 700 sub-postmasters in the UK were falsely prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 based on information from the Post Office’s faulty computer system, Horizon. A glitch meant that thousands were accused of taking money from their tills. Some of them were driven to suicide.

Despite the fact the scandal has been public for years, it has now caused a public outcry because of a recent ITV drama – Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) wrote to 73 potential victims in Scotland in 2020, though only 16 have come forward to have their convictions quashed.

Six of them were permitted by the SCCRC to appeal their convictions in court. Only two, however, have been overturned so far.

Asked about the scandal, Mr Yousaf said: “It should not have taken a television drama to get the government to take action. The Scottish National Party has been asking for action in relation to Horizon and the injustices done to postmasters and sub-postmasters for many years.

“I think the idea of almost a mass exoneration is one that is very worthy of consideration.”

A former Perth and Kinross postmaster, Chris Dawson, lost his home and three businesses in the scandal. He was falsely accused of stealing £17,500 and was, he said, put through “hell on earth”.

He told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “I lost all three businesses. I lost my house. My marriage collapsed. I suffered mental health issues.

“The upset to my wife and to my two daughters, who were then only eight and 11, was horrendous.”

He also said he felt as if he was “one person up against the establishment”.