The File
The Post Office knew its Horizon accounting system was defective for years while prosecuting subpostmasters on the shortfalls that same system falsely reported. The independent inquiry led by Sir Wyn Williams, a former High Court judge, delivered its first verdict on that conduct in July 2025, and the finding was blunt: this was the worst miscarriage of justice in British legal history, not an unfortunate accident of a flawed system.
The Documented Record
1999 to 2015: More than 900 subpostmasters were wrongfully prosecuted for offences including theft, fraud, and false accounting, based on shortfalls the Post Office's Horizon system falsely reported. [DOCUMENTED]
The Post Office obliged subpostmasters to repay these false shortfalls, and many were wrongfully convicted as a result. [DOCUMENTED]
July 8, 2025: The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams, published Volume 1 of its final report, calling for swift action to deliver full and fair compensation. [DOCUMENTED]
Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas responded to Parliament the same day, stating a second volume would address the causes of the scandal and how repetition can be avoided. [DOCUMENTED]
Sources
- Chair calls for swift action to deliver full and fair compensation, Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, 2025
- Horizon Scandal Factsheet, UK Government, 2024
- Post Office Horizon Scandal Report Volume One Response, BCS, 2025
- Post Office Minister responds to Horizon IT Inquiry report, UK Government, 2025
Connected Files
COV-002 documents a separate UK institutional cover-up on a similar scale. CAN-001 documents the pattern of elite candor this scandal's disclosure delay exemplifies.