Post Office scandal inquiry lays bare a second injustice
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.
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.
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.
3:28
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.
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
24 minutes ago
- BBC News
Devon motorcycle rider sustains serious leg injuries in crash
A motorcycle rider has suffered life-changing leg injuries after in a crash with a car in and Cornwall Police said officers were called at about 13:40 BST on Thursday to the crash on the A3121 near Ugborough, involving a a red Toyota C-HR and a white Honda XL750 rider, a man in his 60s from the Plymouth area, was taken to hospital. The car driver was roads policing team thanked members of the public for their patience while the road was closed and asked for any witnesses or those with dashcam footage to come forward and assist the investigation.
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
We'll need gas for decades to come, says Centrica's boss
Britain will rely on gas for decades to come, Centrica's boss said yesterday after it backed a £1.5billion deal to buy Europe's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. Centrica, the owner of British Gas, and US infrastructure investor Energy Capital Partners have agreed to acquire the facility at Grain, on the Kent banks of the Thames Estuary, from National Grid, subject to regulatory approval. They said the site 'will be able to provide up to 33 per cent of UK gas demand and so is a critical piece of our energy security infrastructure'. And Centrica chief executive Chris O'Shea told the BBC: 'I do think that gas will be a key part of the energy transition for decades to come.' It comes as Labour's aim to shift away from oil and gas runs into trouble, with a drive to use more wind power in particular facing increasing challenges. Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has banned the issuing of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea. Critics argue that gas will be vital to fulfil demand – in a less polluting way than oil and coal – at a time when the capacity of renewable sources and infrastructure is still being built up. The Grain site imports and stores gas, and supplies European energy markets with customers including Centrica, Shell and Qatar Energy. O'Shea said: 'We'll have more wind and we'll have more solar but there are points where we don't have enough sun, we don't have enough wind. 'You need to have something that when you don't have your renewables you need to be able to turn on your electricity generation and gas is the best way that we've got that now.' The acquisition comes soon after Centrica announced it was investing £1.3billion for a 15 per cent stake in the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk. LNG, which is chilled to minus-162C (minus-259F) and transported on specialist ships, has become increasingly important to Europe since imports from Russia were cut off following the invasion of Ukraine. The fuel met 15 per cent of the UK's gas demand last year. That is expected to soar to about 60 per cent by 2050. Centrica's equity investment totals about £200million as it will also take on £1.1billion of debt. The shift to renewable energy is being hit by US President Donald Trump who has promised to ban new wind farms and recently branded turbines 'a con job'. Shares in Danish wind giant Orsted nosedived this week after it tapped up investors for £7billion to plug a financial hole, blaming its struggles on Trump's policies. Separately, UK figures showed how wind farm operators were paid £117million this year to stop producing energy that could have powered every home in Scotland for six months.
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
BA pilot suspended for allegedly leaving cockpit door open during flight
A British Airways pilot was suspended after allegedly leaving the cockpit door open during a transatlantic flight. He wanted his family – who were travelling as passengers – to see him operating the controls while flying from Heathrow to New York JFK last week, according to the Sun. The newspaper reported that his actions 'alarmed' some passengers, and other crew members alerted the airline about the incident. The pilot was suspended, meaning the return flight scheduled to arrive at Heathrow on August 8 was cancelled. Affected passengers were offered alternative flights and the vast majority arrived within four hours of their original plan, the PA news agency understands. The pilot has returned to flying after an investigation found there was no security threat. A British Airways spokesperson said: 'Safety and security is our top priority and allegations of this nature are always fully investigated.' Since the September 11 terror attacks in the US in 2001, pilots have been required to keep cockpit doors closed and locked to prevent unauthorised access. It emerged earlier this week that an easyJet captain who reportedly walked around a luxury hotel drunk and naked has been suspended. He was scheduled to fly holidaymakers back to the UK from Cape Verde, west Africa, around 36 hours later but was grounded by the airline.
