Michael Madden

Michael Madden, director at Belfast firm Madden & Finucane Solicitors, already represents 20 subpostmasters in Northern Ireland and told the Belfast Telegraph he has been approached by six more in the past week.

Hundreds of subpostmasters were convicted of fraud and false accounting offences based on unreliable evidence from the Post Office’s faulty Horizon accounting system in what has become the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history.

Alan McLaughlin, a subpostmaster in Belfast who was convicted in February 2005 of false accounting offences over an alleged discrepancy of around £10,000, became the first victim in Northern Ireland to have his conviction overturned in October 2022.

The scandal has dominated UK headlines since the airing of TV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office last week, with prime minister Rishi Sunak promising legislation to overturn convictions en masse.

Mr Madden told the Belfast Telegraph: “Even in the last week I have had a number of people come forward and contact me… there have been at least half a dozen that have come forward.

“I had one lady in particular which I am very confident has a very strong application to the Court of Appeal and potentially to this new scheme proposed.

“Even after years and years of these cases going to the court, people who have very good cases are only coming forward now.

“It’s about time and it’s great that people now are getting the courage and confidence to come forward and get their reputations restored since the drama.”