Righting the wrongs of the past - An Opinion Editorial by Nick Read, Chief Executive of Post Office

Today (Monday 14 February) the oral hearings begin at the public inquiry led by Sir Wyn Williams into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. Sir Wyn will hear first-hand testimony from Postmasters whose lives have been deeply affected by this scandal.

For the postmasters concerned, giving this evidence will be hard. They have already endured much. There will be difficult memories to raise. There will be emotionally troubling accounts on the impacts on their lives and their loved ones. I expect the testimonies to make for uncomfortable listening for the Post Office. But we need to hear it.

There is likely to be testimony that the Post Office was historically too insular and too remote. A business that let down too many of its postmasters. We will hear of time spent in prison by those whose convictions are now unsafe, marriages broken and jobs lost. And we will hear how Post Office got things wrong.

When I became Chief Executive in September 2019, I was clear that the Post Office needed to apologise for events of the past and right the wrongs. When I sat before a Parliamentary Committee in January, I stressed how extremely sorry I am, on behalf of the Post Office, for the impact on the lives of these postmasters that was caused by historical failures. I repeat that apology today.

What happened was unacceptable. The Inquiry should get to the bottom of what went wrong and is an opportunity to help draw a line for some people who have suffered for decades. I am determined that Post Office does all it can to help the Inquiry achieve that. In doing so we can rebuild confidence in the Post Office that remains so vital for the essential services it provides to communities across the United Kingdom. We must get this right.

We have made good progress to offer redress to those affected by this scandal. The overwhelming majority of the 72 people who have had their convictions overturned have now each received interim compensation payments of £100,000. Compensation is also being paid for historical shortfalls, which means that postmasters affected by losses related to previous versions of the Horizon IT system can make a financial claim. A third of applicants have already received their offer. We aim to have made nearly all offers by the end of the year as the independent panel assessing each case accelerates its important work. We must ensure that all compensation is full, fair and final for those who have already suffered too much.

Like many of my colleagues at the Post Office, I expect to give evidence to Sir Wyn Williams. There will be tough questions to answer and hard truths to hear. This is imperative to bring transparency and get to the truth of what happened and why.

But more than just righting the wrongs of the past, I have a responsibility to ensure that such things never happen again. We have made significant changes to the way the business works and are resetting our relationship with our postmasters, upon whom we all depend.

We now have two Non-Executive Director postmasters, elected by other postmasters, on the Post Office Board to influence strategy and ensure the business’ direction is rooted in the reality of postmaster experience.

Operational improvements are making a difference for postmasters from initial appointment and training through to the accounting of daily transactions. While there is still much to do, we have made significant progress.

During the coronavirus pandemic, today’s postmasters have proved once again how vital they are to every community in the UK. To help them continue to thrive we must make sure we have righted the wrongs of the past.