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miscarolinas of justice in our nation's history. people who worked hard to serve their community had their lives and rep frustrations destroyed through no fault of their own. >> i'd just like to get to the end of this and sticking plasters, while appreciated, i just feel razz though we're not moving forward. >> they've destroyed my life, sent me to jail. made me go bankrupt. i think it's time for somebody on the post office side to have the same thing done. ♪ >> some justice at last, compensation and ex only -- exoneration for the post masters as the public reacts to ott repeat news. also tonight, meta announces new

safeguards to protect teenagers online and we'll look at the proposed changes to the draft in ukraine. good evening. richie sunak says the government is preparing a new law to quickly compensate and exonerate post masters. over a 15-year period more than 900 people were wrongly convicted of fraud, theft or false accounting because of a faulty i.t. system. so far only 93 have had their convictions overturned. mr. sunak said it was the biggest miscarriage of justice in british history and the government would act quickly. >> four nights of drama on the telly after two decades of injustice and just one week

later -- >> we've come to question the prime minister. >> the most high-profile moment of the week at westminster. the question time and richie sunak said -- >> mr. speaker, this is one of the greatest miscarolinas of justice in our nation's history. we will introduce new legislation to make sure those convicted are visitly exonerated and compensated. >> this is the story of westminster transfixed like never before about a scandal over 20 years in the making. >> it is a huge injustice. people lost their live, their liberty and their lively hood and they've been waiting for too long for the truth, for justice and for compensation. >> yes, exemption. yes, justice. >> itv's drama last week

provoked what you've just seen in the commons. >> have you been there before? >> watching west minister's drama today, the director of the series. >> tell me about this last week. look at what you've done, it's extraordinary. >> it's astonishing. we thought he would hopefully raise awareness and get the story of the vims to ailder all of a sudden but no one ever thought we would get in sort of reaction and response and to be here today to see the overturning of the convictions is mind-blowing. >> back inside parliament, the beginnings of the detail and scruti for the got. >> too many victims wants nothing to do with the british justice system, nothing to do with the post office, nothing to do with government. they have had enough. >> keep on the momentum of the itv series engendered and press here, everywhere.

i think we also still need to listen to the victims. >> in terms ofhose who have died, will their states will abe compensation? >> yes, the government says, their families will get the money. ministers acknowledge today's decision has big consequences, inexcluding the prospect some people who are actually guilty and now paid more than half a million pounds but they believe it's the right call. >> either self the present problem or accept that an unknown number of people who have genuinely stolen from the post office will be exonerated or perhaps even compensated. >> constitutionally, politely, practically, financially, this is a big moment. for the victs, the prospect after so, so long. justice, repayment, clarity.

"bbc news," westminster. >> well, in april 2016, a high court claim was issued against the post office by a group of these post masters, a group litigation order a process for managing claims by people with similar or shared grievances was issued by the court two years later. around 555 claimants belong to that g.l.o. and they've been promised today a $75,000 pound up-front payment but that will be a fraction of the cobbs that many of these people have inoccurred, quite apart from thd court costs of appealing. many of them have lost their livelihoods, their holmes, their pensionings. we spoke on monday to the former most price stress sally stringer who wasn't convicted but still suffered significant financial losses. she's back with us tonight good evening, sally.

>> good evening. >> were you part of the g.l.o. and does the $6 -- 75,000 pound payment go faster enough to mitt game what people invested in their appeals? >> it's aning from question. yes, i am part of it but it's a mixed bunch of people with mixed problems. some fall into the they were prosecuted. some weren't prosecuted and i wuertz prosecuted. the -- wasn't prosecuted. the interim payment that the government announced cad of 75k is a start for those that have lost everything, and i mean everything. but i don't know when the government will actually start to pay it. because the prime minister said it was going to be sorted out

and then the post match said it would take time. so weeed some clarity. >> you do simple math for the 555 times 5,000, it barely covers it and by all accounts there remain 3 or so in this group who will be out of pocket for more than that, like you say. >> exactly what i've just said but the fact of the matter is, it's moving forward as a result of the media and i am hugely grateful to bbc and itv and any other media because you've highlighted an issue that nobody has been able to get ahold of and the ministers are all scrambling around free like rats in a cage at the moment. and at the end of the day we need to have dates and times to be to the inquiry, which is

going to be at the end of 2024, possibly to 2025 if the post office manage to do the delay which they're trying play at the moment, which ticks kicks off tomorrow. it's not good enough. the election will be over by then. there will be a new government and a new set of players and god knows what else. we want clarity. this is an election issue at the end of the day. >> just in terms of how things go forward to here. presumably you'll be sent a form you'll have so sign attesting to your innocence and then what? how does that change for you personally? >> me personally, i wasn't convicted so therefore -- >> you'll have to sign the form to get the munch. >> well, i will have to prove losses and i have done that. i've done that through my

lawyers and are others have done the same. we're all in the same game with this one. we can awful prove that we have lost money through the years. some not brilliantly because they've actually got rid of the documents and i'm not surprised. because actually having buckets full of post office documents is tortuous. >> just one last thing, sally. you've had some pretty harsh things to say about the leader. he was in charge of the peace officer in 2010. he was intact m.f.q.'s today when this was announce. should he have been? >> oh, yes, he's the leader of the political party, for god's sakes. has a duty -- and i was many

years ago a liberal counselor in cheten ham and he has a duty to appear in parliament to represent the con since -- constituents he represents and also those who will vote for him. i'm done with them but that's by the by. he's very good at telling people you have to resign, this and that. actually, the boot is on the other foot now and he doesn't like it very much. now the boot's on the other foot with vince cable. joe swingsen is another one. they have not done the job they were supposed to properly. for goodness sakes, say sorry. it's not difficult. >> ok. sally, thank you very much for that. well, the government, of course, have two options to consider in

these convictions. one was to agree to some expedited procedure with the court of appeal and the other is to draft the legislation they're proposing pleasures is to exonerate everyone including those who have been guilty of fraud. it's likely now there will be unjust acquittals which raisings questions of constitutional principal principle. we'll spoke to someone who's dead kateed his research to the legal failings. can you think of a precedents like this where the government en masse has quashed convictions and gone around the courts? >> no, inch this is a totally unique situation. the post office, through their behaviors and investigations and prosecutions stretching back 20 years have put the government and. courts in a really bad position

and chosen this process as the way of solving the problem. i think it probable is the only solution that will tackle the injustice of the hundreds of people affected. >> but you've heard the war lords who have been interviewed. what they' saying is that once precedent is made, there's no telling how it may be -- might be used in the future. >> it's not a precedents in thei legal sense. it's a political precedent if it's anything and the situation is totally unique. the facts of the case are extraordinary, the number of people affected is extraordinary. their level of agreement to cross both houses is extraordinary and the government are mindful of some of the constitutional problems and putting in processes to try to deal with the risk of, if you like, unjust acquittals, which is really pretty low because

we'll simply never know which people me guilty because of the way the post office handled the occasions. they made such a terrible mess of the cases, the courts can't -- >> but the system is more on protecting the innocent. that's why we have to have proof beyond reason doubt so this is probably the best round away to do ever way to do it. you just heard from sally, who, this probably is a good step. what elements would you like to see in the draft legislation? >> we need to see a process that's going to work for the postmaster victims. the horizon compensation advisory board will continue to work with the minister's office on that. to protect the interests of the most masters shoo everybody else involved. that's the key thing for me because these people have been

waiting upwards of 20 years, some of them. >> what about the nondisclosure agreements drafted by the lawyers which prevented the most master -- post match victims from finding about each other. isn't it important that those are waived? >> my understanding is they've been waived for the inerie and any post masters who wants to break their agreement, i would encourage them to talk to the lawyers. if there is any question, the postmasters can clarify it. >> we should pointout that this is legislation only for england and wales. planned and northern ireland will have to look at their own legislation on this. do you foresee any cases in scotland? for only a handful of cases in

northern ireland. >> i'm not a scottish legal expert so i can't speak to the detail of that. the note is coming out of the minister looking promising in regards to a similar solution. but we do have to wait and see because obviously the legal system is different there. >> richard morehead, thank you for coming on the program. around the world and across the u.k., you're watching "bbc news." take a quick look at some of the other stories making headlines here today. the london to birmingham stretch of the railway could cost as much as 66 billion pounds alone, almost twice as much as the original estimate for the entire project. the executive chair said reasons for the cost increase include original bunts being too low, changes to coach is, poor

delivery and inflation. if parents of a british tourist who died after a helicopter crash in the grand canyon will receive a $17 million pound paid off. the 37-year-old along with his new wife who died after his helicopter crashed and went up into flames. the actor stephen free throw has called to an end to the use of real fur in the bare skinned caps worn by the king gourd on duties. he's backing an animal welfare campaign to bring it to an end. you're watching "bbc news." taiwan will elect a new president this coming weekend in an election that china has called a choice between peace and war. taiwan's separation from china is seen in beijing as an aberration, a leftover from china's civil war.

they drove china's nationalist leader shanghai check from power. today taiwan is a democracy and its people are free to choose the government they want. >> there was a time when statues of shanghai she can greeted up whenever you went on this island. today it's a rare sight. hundreds of his statues have been stashed away here at this riverside park. this 94-year-old isn't happy about it. as a young soldier he fled china in 19 9 but he's never stopped feeling chinese. >> taiwan is a province. it is still a part of china. slowly, the differences between us will narrow until we are the same. then we can achieve unification.

>> shanghai shek tried to turn china into a mini version of the china he'd left behind. he said there was no suffer thing as being taiwan ease. >> his project to turn taiwanese people into citizens of china ultimately failed. today around 70% of people here say they are taiwan ease, not chinese. >> in 87-year-old is one of these. he spent 10 years in this prison for supporting taiwan independence. john of he says he always felt taiwan ease and his years in prison only strengthened that belief. >> i do consider myself ta taiwanese. due to the influence of the

chinese party, we can't declare insurance of independence. >> it's election time and people here are again facing those questions. who are they and what relationship should they have with china? today, no one is campaigning for unification. >> yeah, i'm taiwanese but my an zesters come from china. we have the same blood. >> and who can unification? >> i want us to be good friends. we can both make money togher. >> taiwan is very different from china. it has dozens of political parties and noisy, energetic electionings. people are free to choose who they are and how to live andhe vast majority don't want that to change. "bbc news" in taipei. >> the election on saturday, the 13th. our teams will be there and we'll bring you all the news and

reaction to the result. meta says it is adding new safety features to protect team on facebook and instagram. all teens will not be now be placed automatically in the most restrictive control settings on the apps and additional search terms will be limited on instagram. it should become more difficult for teens to become upon harmful sights. there's been fierce scrutiny of what teenagers have had access to. the company says it will help deliver a more age-appropriate experience and set to be rolled out in the coming weeks. we're speaking to a professor of universal literacy. good to have you with you want. significant, this? >> it's absolutely a positive step forward, yes. i think there's been increasing scrutiny for organizations like

meta recently. highly publicized whistle blowers and lawsuit and a lot of public debate. >> i know you put a lot of forecasts on education in social media. one of the elements they have announced is districting teens to more resources to further help functions if they are posting about in particular content is that useful? >> absolutely. i think they have advanced measures to block searching search terms and contents but i think a real key here is also that it's it's not just that children or teenagers should be banned or discussing or finding information about certain topics. it's more about directing them to the right quality of material. tallahassee you say, education is really important and there's skills.need for critical media- >> and when it comes to directing them to the right material, that is very much dependent, is sit not, on the

algorithms? >> absolutely. this is a brilliant step stood but at the same time i think a huge amount of the population, child and teenagers and adult don't fully understand the complexity of these algorithms and thousand they're working to direct news certain ways. certainly in terms of putting content in front of us that is con century -- contentious, might encourage detective and also which courageous dispute between people. >> as i said, they're going to put people automatically into sort of the most restrictive content controls but as we know, often children will lie about their age when they sign up to these social media sites. has there been enough work done on that? >> absolutely. we know children and young

medium do this. on the other hand i think maybe the focus isn't so much on verifying that but on making sure that we are making the experience of social media broadly speaking safer and less harmful for everybody who's engaging with it. so that comes down to some of these things we're talking about. not using the algorithms for every user this ways that are quite damaging. >> every parent you speak to will tell you that their teenagers, mine included, spent an inordinate amount of time of snapchat, instagram, tiktok. what is the rhythm between social media and the mental health of our children? >> i think what's really difficult about this is, as always, these messages are very diluted. a at the end of the day there are really positive things about social media and negative ones in terms of the mental health of

children and young people and really a step like this today while important, shows the nuance of that and it's a really big job to support children and young people not just in terms of content but in helping them have critical skills that have en-- that will enable hem to make sense of that material. what is a valid source, how do i respond to this and who can i speak to in real life for support? >> we've seen the affect it has had in extreme cases in children that have lost their life. there is federal legislation pending in the united states which could go even further than this. i know you advise government sometimes. do you think this will as much politicians and does it go as far as they want? >> i think absolutely not. it's a positive instead of and

some of the things that have been mentioned around standards, self-harm, eating disorders, these are things that are clearly really emotional issues and they will will be things that people are happy to hear about but at the same time they are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of potential risks and i think companies like meta do have a responsibility to sort of address those more broad live. >> dr. fiona scott, thank you for coming on the program. the over side of the break we're going to talk about a really important issue in ukraine not often addressed in western media and that is the draft. how do they assign to the front line, and how many people can they find and protect on narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. acuntants and advisors.

narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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