The Post Office must lose the right to police itself
The IndependentAnother highly unexpected – but highly welcome – consequence of the ITV dramatisation of the Post Office/Horizon scandal is that the previously little-noticed proceedings of the statutory inquiry are now carried live, gavel to gavel, to a global audience. Given the inquiry’s wide-ranging powers – which allow for the collation of confidential material, including recordings of conversations – the outcome is bound to be searing for the Post Office, Fujitsu, civil servants in the business department, and various accountants, lawyers and politicians involved in the story. Those responsible at the very top of the organisations concerned, especially the Post Office and Fujitsu, have to be held accountable for their actions and pursued with the full force of the law – the bigger figures cannot be permitted to scapegoat their staff for what went wrong, whatever impression may be formed from the televised proceedings. That said, it already seems clear that the Post Office’s own investigations department is an anachronism, and too conflicted to be allowed to continue as an investigatory and prosecuting authority – or to carry the confidence of the public.
History of this topic
Police to deploy 80 detectives for criminal investigation into Post Office
The Independent
Law to exonerate wronged subpostmasters moves a step closer
The Independent
Post office should be sold for £1, wronged postmaster Alan Bates tells MPs
The Independent
Explained: What is Britain’s Post Office scandal?
Hindustan TimesUK Post Office scandal: Parliamentary committee seeks to speed up compensation for victims
Associated Press
Post Office scandal: How will the new law to exonerate victims of Horizon work?
The IndependentEx-UK Post Office boss gives back a royal honor amid fury over hundreds of wrongful convictions
Associated Press
Why did it fall to TV execs to fight for victims of the Post Office scandal?
The Independent
Post Office scandal victims could be exonerated, Rishi Sunak suggests
The Independent
Government ‘looking at’ measures to clear Horizon scandal postmasters, PM says
The IndependentPolice probe UK Post Office for accusing over 700 employees of theft. The culprit was an IT glitch
Associated Press
Police probe UK Post Office for accusing over 700 employees of theft. The culprit was an IT glitch
The IndependentDiscover Related
