The long-awaited first report from the Post Office Horizon scandal inquiry lays bare not just the devastating personal toll of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history, but also the slow-motion failure of the government and the Post Office to deliver meaningful redress.
Sir Wyn Williams’s first report documents with stark clarity how hundreds of sub-postmasters, wrongly accused of theft and fraud due to the faulty Horizon IT system, lost their livelihoods, homes, reputations – and in some cases, their lives.
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Thirteen people are believed to have taken their lives as a result of the scandal.
Fifty-nine contemplated it.
It talks of alcohol addiction, serious mental illness, and bankruptcy – all tearing families apart and leaving behind a heartbreaking legacy.
But if the scandal was a failure of justice, the response to it has become a second injustice.
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Critical on a technical level
The report is critical, on a fairly technical level, about the complexity, delays, and bureaucracy of redress schemes that have left victims still waiting years for full compensation.
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Hundreds of whom have died before seeing “full and fair redress”.
While Sir Wyn is fair to the government and the Post Office in stating that he believes their commitment to delivering the above has been in “good faith”, he concludes this has not been achieved for every victim, describing “formidable” difficulties.
There are 19 recommendations – including a push to ensure consistency across all four redress schemes, with an agreed and public definition of “full and fair redress”.
Compensation
Among them, that family members of victims should be compensated, and a permanent public body established to manage future redress schemes in future.
Additionally, Fujitsu, the Post Office, and the government should engage in formal restorative justice programmes.
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There was also a flavour of what is to come in the final report later this year or next.
The report has found that both Fujitsu and Post Office staff knew Horizon could produce false data but concealed this, maintaining a false narrative of accuracy.
One of the most important things now, though, is how and when the government, Post Office, and Fujitsu respond officially.
Sir Wyn has also set a deadline of 10 October 2025 for that.
The victims of this scandal have waited long enough.
