The government has announced that the Group Litigation Order (GLO) Compensation Scheme will close to new applications on 31st July 2026, with the scheme expected to conclude by 31st December 2026. The decision marks a significant milestone in the long-running effort to deliver financial redress to postmasters affected by the Horizon IT scandal, one of the most extensive miscarriages of justice in British legal history.
The GLO scheme was established in March 2023 to provide compensation to unconvicted subpostmasters who formed part of the Group Litigation Order brought against the Post Office between 2017 and 2019. As of 31st March 2026, nearly 90% of eligible claimants have received their final settlement, with £223 million paid out to date. The closure dates were set in consultation with claimants’ lawyers, with the expectation that firm deadlines will accelerate the resolution of remaining cases.
A commitment fulfilled
Late last year, ministers gave a formal commitment to the Business and Trade Select Committee that GLO victims would see their cases resolved by the end of 2026. Post Office Minister Blair McDougall described the postmasters in the GLO group as those who ‘led the charge for justice’ and said they deserved to see the matter concluded with full and fair redress. ‘We are 90% of the way there, and I am determined that the remaining claims are resolved quickly and fairly, with proper support for anyone who needs it,’ he said.
Claimants’ lawyers and government officials will continue to work closely with those yet to settle, with provisions in place to extend timelines for individuals who require additional support. The structure of the closure process reflects a recognition that not all claimants are in the same position, and that a fixed end date must be accompanied by flexibility for those in more complex circumstances.
The scale of redress
Since the summer of 2024, the government has paid out more than £1.5 billion in financial redress to over 12,000 claimants across all Horizon-related compensation schemes, a figure more than six times the amount distributed before that point. The acceleration in payments reflects a significant shift in the government’s approach to resolving the scandal, following years of criticism that progress was too slow.
The GLO scheme is open to 492 of the 555 individuals who brought the original litigation. The remaining claimants, whose convictions precluded them from the GLO route, have either already received redress or are eligible to apply through the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme, a separate mechanism established to address the needs of those who were wrongfully prosecuted.
Post Office Process Review scheme also closing
Alongside the GLO closure, the government confirmed that the Post Office Process Review (PPR) scheme will close to new applications on 30th September 2026. Unlike the Horizon-related schemes, the PPR scheme provides redress to postmasters who suffered financial losses caused by other Post Office products, policies or processes unconnected to the faulty Horizon software. The average financial losses dealt with under the PPR scheme are significantly lower than those in the GLO or other Horizon-related programmes.
The dual closure announcements signal that the government views the active compensation phase of the Horizon scandal as approaching its end. What began as a legal battle by a group of determined postmasters in 2017 has, over nearly a decade, grown into one of the largest public redress exercises the country has undertaken. The task now is to ensure that the final claimants are not left behind as the formal structures wind down.