Post Office statement on Government announcement of independent review

The UK Government today (10 June) announced that it will shortly launch an independent review into the Post Office Ltd Horizon IT system.

A Post Office spokesperson said:

“The Post Office welcomes the review announced by the Government and we will of course fully and positively engage. It is as much in the interests of Post Office as it is in the interests of postmasters to ensure that issues of the past are resolved and that the lessons learned inform the wide-ranging reforms being undertaken.

“The Post Office has taken determined action. We agreed a comprehensive resolution last year with claimants in group civil litigation, following successful independent mediation. We subsequently set up the Historical Shortfall Scheme to provide redress for other postmasters who may want to make claims.

“We are also leaving no stone unturned for those postmasters with past criminal convictions that may be affected. We have been working closely with the Criminal Cases Review Commission since applications were first made to them. Alongside this, we are conducting an extensive review of all relevant historical convictions, dating back to 1999, to identify and disclose material in accordance with Post Office’s duties as prosecutor.

“We have made wide-reaching improvements in the support we provide, from initial recruitment and training, through to the support for daily transaction accounting. These are being set out for every postmaster, detailing responsibilities and commitments which support them to build thriving businesses, serving the UK’s communities.”

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