Nearly £5 million has been distributed to victims of one of Britain's largest miscarriages of justice, though thousands of those affected — paying out wrongly £319 on average — may remain unaware of the scandal, new figures have shown.
More than 48,000 individuals saw their criminal convictions quashed following a 2024 ruling which found that train operators had unlawfully used the fast-track Single Justice Procedure (SJP) for years to prosecute alleged fare evasion.
Over half of fines still unclaimed
Notification letters were sent to all those wrongly convicted, and newly-published Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics reveal that £4,900,096 in fines, costs, and court fees have been reimbursed to date.
However, the figures indicate that over half of those who settled their fines are yet to claim their money back, with £2,603,463 in financial penalties still awaiting repayment, while thousands more affected individuals may be completely unaware their convictions have been overturned.
Following the data release, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, the MoJ has faced criticism for failing to adequately trace all those impacted by the scandal.
Campaign group calls for full compensation
Penelope Gibbs, director of campaign organisation Transform Justice which secured the data, said: "The biggest miscarriage of justice in English and Welsh history has been compounded by the unwillingness of the state to find and compensate victims."
She added: "The State should make every effort to ensure people know their criminal conviction is null and void. The Ministry of Justice has no idea whether most of the victims do.
"They should also compensate everyone who paid an average of £319 in fines and costs for not having the right train ticket. Compensating a minority of victims is no way good enough."
Background of the scandal
The extent of the issue emerged in August 2024, when chief magistrate Paul Goldspring ruled on six test cases involving fare evasion prosecutions, determining they were unlawful due to their use of the Single Justice Procedure.
The expedited court system, which permits magistrates to convict and impose sentences behind closed doors, is restricted to a particular list of offences approved by Parliament. Judge Goldspring concluded that MPs "didn't envisage these offences being prosecuted through the Single Justice Procedure".
The MoJ is believed to have written to all 48,222 individuals affected using their last-known addresses, informing them that convictions dating from 2018 and 2023 have been overturned.
Of those, 23,510 had settled the original fine following conviction, yet just 10,339 came forward to claim their refund.
The MoJ states it is maintaining efforts to reach everyone who was wrongfully convicted, though it declined to provide specifics about the measures being taken to locate those who have relocated since. Eight train operators — Northern, Transpennine, Avanti West Coast, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Arriva Rail Northern, Merseyrail, Govia and C2C — were found to have pursued unlawful prosecutions, many of which involved fare evasion allegations under the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, an offence not included on Parliament's approved list for the Single Justice Procedure.
Government response and reforms
The Ministry of Justice confirmed that the rail firms have reimbursed prosecution costs and compensation, while the Government has refunded fines and victim surcharges.
"While fare evasion should be tackled, the right process should always be followed", a Government spokesperson said. "We have contacted those affected whose details are available and set out how to arrange refunds where appropriate."
The controversy prompted formal apologies from the train operators and triggered a Government review and wholesale overhaul of how fare evasion allegations are handled.
It also piled pressure on the Government to push through reform of the SJP system, in which magistrates sit alone to rule on criminal cases in large volumes.
The Magistrates Association called for reform of the system in 2024, warning that its members feel compelled to make hasty rulings due to the structure of the fast-track courts. This month, it reiterated its push for change following a string of scandals surrounding the fairness of the process.
The Government is currently conducting a review of the SJP system and has pledged to "set out reforms shortly".
