A minister has declared he is "sympathetic" to Sir Wyn Williams's 19 recommendations following the publication of the first volume of the Post Office inquiry's final report. Business minister Gareth Thomas (Labour) pledged the Government will respond "properly" to the recommendations by the inquiry's October 10 deadline.
"I cannot assuage the anger of the victims, nor will the anger I feel on their behalf ever be assuaged," Thomas told the Commons. He emphasised the Government's determination to act quickly on redress to give victims "at least a measure of the peace they so rightly deserve".
Inquiry finds system flaws
Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry chairman Sir Wyn published the first volume of his final report on Tuesday. The inquiry found that "a number of senior people" at the Post Office were aware the Legacy Horizon system was capable of error until it was changed in 2010, with several employees also knowing the updated Horizon Online system had bugs and defects.
Among Sir Wyn's 19 recommendations was that the Government and Post Office should make a public announcement about what they mean by "full and fair redress". Thomas told MPs that "blameless people were impoverished, bankrupted, stressed beyond belief, lost their jobs, their marriages, their reputations, their mental health, in some cases lost their lives".
Government accepts key recommendation
The minister confirmed the Government already accepts a recommendation that the "best offer principle" should apply where claimants can receive money through the High Court Group Litigation Order scheme. Claimants "should be able to bank the best offer they get", Thomas said, including if they disagree with their award and lodge an appeal with an independent panel.
"We will provide redress for family members of postmasters who suffered because of the scandal," the minister continued. He acknowledged that designing a suitable compensation scheme for family members raises "very difficult issues" but said the Government wants to look after those who suffered most.
Standing body proposal considered
Thomas expressed "considerable sympathy" with Sir Wyn's argument for a standing public body to deliver redress in any further scandal. However, he said the Government would need to "analyse the options fully" before committing to such a proposal and would bring conclusions back to the House.
Ian Byrne (Labour) pressed the Government on Labour's manifesto pledge to bring forward a Hillsborough law, named after the 1989 stadium crush in Sheffield. The Liverpool West Derby MP said the report confirms "the heartbreaking scale of the human impact of this shocking miscarriage of justice".
Hillsborough law debate
Byrne warned that the Post Office scandal "follows a familiar pattern, where institutions deceive and distort because they put their reputations before truth and justice". He asked whether the minister agreed the report shows why the Government must honour its pledge to enact the Hillsborough law in full.
Thomas replied that transparency from Sir Wyn Williams's work would be "hugely important" in helping both the Post Office and the country learn lessons from the scandal. He said if measures are needed to ensure the Post Office is never in such a position again, the Government would "certainly look to bring those forwards".
Parliamentary criticism raised
Conservative former minister Sir Andrew Mitchell said "many" of his colleagues had raised Horizon redress "for years" and noted it took the ITV drama "Mr Bates vs The Post Office" in January 2024 "for the earth to move". He questioned "what is the point of Parliament and its elected representatives" and asked when institutions would hold the "tax-funded villains who perpetrated this monstrous injustice" to account.
Thomas responded that Sir Wyn's further report will "lay bare who is responsible" alongside police work. He confirmed 100 police officers are working on the case, are in touch with subpostmaster representatives, and have identified people of interest to their inquiry.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
