Post Office Chair on Horizon: I would like to make a clear and unequivocal apology
Yesterday (8th July) Sir Wyn Williams, the Chair of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, published the first volume of his final report, calling for urgent action to be taken to ensure full and fair compensation is delivered to sub-postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.
Laid before Parliament, Sir Wyn makes 19 urgent recommendations to resolve issues that are hindering full and fair redress, including that:
- The Government and the Post Office should agree on a definition of ‘full and fair’ compensation, and this should be followed when deciding the level of compensation to offer.
- Horizon Shortfall Scheme claimants should receive legal advice, funded by the Government.
- Close family members of people affected by the Horizon scandal should receive compensation.
- The Government should create a standing public body which will create, administer, and deliver schemes for giving financial redress to people who have been wronged by public bodies.
- Fujitsu, Post Office and the Government should publish a report by 31 October 2025, outlining a programme for restorative justice (or the actions they’ve taken so far to produce this programme).
Sir Wyn says he expects the Government (and where appropriate Post Office and Fujitsu) to provide a written response to his recommendations by 10 October 2025.
Human Impact of the scandal
In the 162-page report, the Chair also details the scale of the suffering endured by those affected by the Horizon scandal.
Through 17 carefully chosen illustrations, Sir Wyn recounts how some people became seriously ill, struggled with mental health problems including alcohol addiction, and faced financial impacts such as bankruptcy.
He details how some people experienced reputational impacts or sadly passed away before receiving compensation. Elsewhere, he also highlights how some sub-postmasters were held liable for small amounts of money allegedly lost to the Post Office, while others were wrongly imprisoned.
Sir Wyn’s findings in the report are based on hearings and evidence submitted up until 6 June 2025. This spans around 225 days of hearings, 298 witnesses, with around 274,600 documents disclosed to Core Participants.
“Full, fair and prompt” redress
Sir Wyn writes that, despite the Government and Post Office appearing to show a genuine desire to provide redress which is full and fair, and delivered promptly, there have been “formidable difficulties in the way of achieving those aims”.
Considering each of the four redress schemes in turn, Sir Wyn finds that claimants to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme did not receive full and fair redress.
Sir Wyn writes: “I am persuaded that in the difficult and substantial claims, on too many occasions, the Post Office and its advisors have adopted an unnecessarily adversarial attitude towards making initial offers which have had the effect of depressing the level at which settlements have been achieved.”
He also discusses how a ‘fear factor’ has been removed from the Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeals process. This is because every claimant who chooses to have a claim assessed may appeal the offer made “safe in the knowledge that there is no risk of losing a prior better offer.”
Considering this, he questions why this ‘fear factor’ has not been removed for sub-postmasters who must choose whether to take the fixed term offer or have a compensation assessment.
He writes: “Why is it appropriate to remove the fear factor from the HSSA but rigidly retain it in relation to the choice made by claimants between the Fixed Sum Offer and assessment? Try as I might, I cannot see the justification for these different approaches.”
For this reason, Sir Wyn recommends that anyone applying for a compensation scheme who has chosen to have their claim assessed should be allowed to take the fixed sum offer instead up to three months after receiving their first assessed offer.
He also recommends that the Government should publish a document explaining the ‘best offer principle’ in practice.
Government response
Understanding the need for swift action, Sir Wyn has decided to publish the first volume of his final report as soon as possible.
On timings for a government response to these findings, Sir Wyn writes: “No purpose would be served by HM Government or the Department delaying consideration of my recommendations until the remainder of my Report is delivered.
“The whole reason for delivering this volume of my report in advance of the remaining volume is that appropriate action in relation to the schemes for redress can be taken as soon as reasonably possible.”
- Further issues are explored in Sir Wyn’s report which is available to read in full on the Inquiry’s website.
- A ‘rapid read’ summary of the findings is available on the Inquiry’s website.
Commenting on the Horizon IT Inquiry Volume 1 report, Post Office Chair Nigel Railton, said: “I would like to make a clear and unequivocal apology to every single person affected by this scandal on behalf of Post Office.
“The Horizon Scandal is not one event. Lots of people made choices over two decades which caused serious harm to so many people. Post Office did not listen to postmasters and, as an organisation, we let them down. Postmasters and their families have suffered years of pain. It has taken them too long to clear their names and, in many cases, to receive redress.
“I welcome Sir Wyn Williams’ report, and I am grateful to those postmasters who gave evidence to the Inquiry. It is through their personal stories that we understand the human impact of this scandal.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure that affected postmasters receive the redress they are entitled to, as soon as possible.
“Post Office will carefully review the report and provide a full response to the Inquiry by 10 October 2025, as requested by Sir Wyn.”
Please note the report contains contents which some may find distressing.
