The phrase "Affront to justice" is key here. To be honest, I am completely shocked that this wasn't sorted out several years ago when it was all over the papers and it was completely obvious what had happened. But that key phrase allows the wholesale claiming of damages.

It's also noteworthy that these injustices originated from private prosecutions brought by the Post Office. That is a relatively unusual legal action in this country, where almost all criminal prosecutions are brought by the state. Given the damage that a wrongful criminal prosecution can cause, including imprisonment and having a criminal record, the compensation awarded could be considerable and there is already talk of the Post Office needing extra government funding to cover the cost.

Another small point of interest that doesn't seem to be making the mainstream reporting yet is that under our legal system the state prosecutor (the Crown Prosecution Service) has the power to take over and, if appropriate, shut down any private prosecution. When the inevitable inquiries publish their conclusions, the fact that so many bad prosecutions were successfully brought over such a long period might reflect poorly not only on the Post Office and on the courts and lawyers involved in the convictions but also on the CPS for not intervening. This could become politically significant, because the current Leader of the Opposition was in charge of the CPS around 2009-2013, the last five years when most such prosecutions were being brought. That could leave him in an awkward position if he's attacked over his record during the next general election campaign, given that his party is exactly the one that's supposed to stand up for working class "little guys" like the victims in these cases.