More than 13 people may have taken their own lives as a result of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. These are the first findings from the public inquiry into what has been called the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history. Sir Wyn Williams, chairman of the inquiry, said that a further 59 victims had contemplated suicide, and ten had attempted it. His 162-page report follows evidence from 298 witnesses over three years and the examination of 2.2 million pages of documents. He does not hold back in his criticism.
More than 13 people may have taken their own lives as a result of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal
His report conveys the ‘disastrous human impact’ on more than 1,000 Post Office branch managers who were wrongly accused and convicted between 1999 and 2015 of taking money from their branches because faulty software showed a shortfall. The report makes clear that Post Office bosses knew the Horizon IT system was deeply flawed but ‘maintained the fiction’ that a version of it ‘was always accurate’. Sir Wyn also said that ‘wholly unacceptable behaviour’ had been perpetrated by ‘a number of individuals employed by and/or associated with the Post Office and Fujitsu’. He found that employees at the Japanese IT group were aware the system was ‘afflicted by bugs, errors and defects’ even before it was rolled out. He also found that ‘a number of senior and not so senior employees of the Post Office knew, or at least should have known, that Legacy Horizon was capable of error’.
Since the inquiry began hearing evidence in 2022, many witnesses have suggested that certain Post Office personnel had knowledge of the defects. The chairman has now confirmed this – a significant moment in the long-running scandal.
The report also addresses the matter of compensation, stating that the Post Office and its advisers had in many cases adopted an ‘unnecessarily adversarial attitude’ when making offers to those seeking financial redress. The judge found that Post Office lawyers nitpicked over small amounts of money. There are four compensation schemes in place for victims, for which Sir Wyn identified ‘around 10,000 claimants’ – a number likely to rise ‘at least by hundreds, if not more’ in the coming months. While more than £1 billion has been paid out so far (according to the government), many victims are still waiting. Those with larger claims have repeatedly returned to demand what they believe they deserve. Sir Wyn recommended that the government and the Post Office agree on a definition of ‘full and fair’ compensation, and that this be applied when deciding the level to offer. He also said victims should receive free legal advice funded by the government, calling it ‘unconscionable and wholly unfair’ that claimants were left to fight their cause without support. Compensation should also be offered to close family members, he said.
The toll of this scandal is plain. Sir Wyn said he had received more than 200 witness statements from victims and that almost all ‘had suffered very significantly and many had endured a degree of hardship which was very severe by any standards’. He recounted how some became seriously ill, while others lost their homes or became bankrupt. Even those who were acquitted often found themselves ‘ostracised’ in their communities. Many died before receiving a penny in compensation.
No date has yet been set for the publication of Volume Two of the report, which will cover technical issues with the Horizon IT system, the Post Office’s handling of discrepancies, and government oversight. It is expected early next year. A criminal investigation is under way in parallel with the inquiry. After the report’s publication, the Post Office responded: ‘The inquiry has brought to life the devastating stories of those impacted by the Horizon scandal…Today, we apologise unreservedly for the suffering which Post Office caused to postmasters and their loved ones. We will carefully consider the report and its recommendations.’ The sense remains that those responsible for this grave miscarriage of justice have yet to be held to account.
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