Ongoing
· Chair: Sir Wyn Williams
· Established June 2021
· Commissioned by Department for Business and Trade
Public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, examining how more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted based on faulty Fujitsu software between 1999 and 2015.
Not accepted · Department for Business and Trade says not accepted
Recommended
The current Dispute Resolution Procedure in HSS should be closed once all claimants currently within the Procedure have either (a) settled their claims or (b) transferred to HSSA. No claimant who is not in the Dispute Resolution Procedure when HSSA opens should be eligible to join the Dispute Resolution Procedure.
Since then (summary written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended closing the Horizon Shortfall Scheme dispute resolution procedure once appeals open. In October 2025, Blair McDougall, Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, stated that the Department for Business and Trade rejected closing the procedure to avoid unfairly restricting postmasters' choices (Blair McDougall, Oct 2025). In March 2026, the Business and Trade Committee HC 1598 acknowledged the refusal without disputing it, while finding that the wider shortfall scheme suffered from operational problems (Business and Trade Committee HC 1598, Mar 2026). The committee reported that thousands of claimants were still awaiting settlement (Business and Trade Committee HC 1598, Mar 2026).
Addressed to Department for Business and Trade · Full record
Written QuestionHouse of CommonsDr Al Pinkerton · Liberal Democrat
Asked: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Post Office Horizon Inquiry on the publication of evidence.
Answered by Ministry of Justice: The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 and Sir Wyn Williams and the Inquiry team have the right to receive full access to the information and witnesses they require in order to investigate what went wrong at the Post Office. The Inquiry is entirely independent. Within its published terms of reference, Sir …
Written QuestionHouse of CommonsJohn Milne · Liberal Democrat
Asked: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has assessed the suitability of Fujitsu Ltd to continue holding public sector contracts following its role in the Horizon IT system failures.
Answered by Cabinet Office: The impact that the Horizon scandal has had on postmasters and their families is horrendous. This Government is determined to hold those responsible to account. Fujitsu’s culpability needs to be assessed in light of the final report of Sir Wyn Williams’s Inquiry. Once it is published we will carefully consider whether to launch debarment investigations based on the findings in …
Written QuestionHouse of CommonsJohn Milne · Liberal Democrat
Asked: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how Fujitsu Ltd’s central role in the Horizon IT failures is affecting its eligibility for future government contracts.
Answered by Cabinet Office: The impact that the Horizon scandal has had on postmasters and their families is horrendous. This Government is determined to hold those responsible to account. Fujitsu’s culpability needs to be assessed in light of the final report of Sir Wyn Williams’s Inquiry. Once it is published we will carefully consider whether to launch debarment investigations based on the findings in …
Written QuestionHouse of LordsBaroness Ritchie of Downpatrick · Labour
Asked: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 9 July (HL Deb col 1326), what is the timeline for completing assessments under the Procurement Act 2023 of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct.
Answered by Cabinet Office: The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case. The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation …
Written QuestionHouse of CommonsNavendu Mishra · Labour
Asked: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to review Government contracts with Fujitsu.
Answered by Cabinet Office: The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering …
Written QuestionHouse of LordsBaroness Ritchie of Downpatrick · Labour
Asked: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed Fujitsu for exclusion under the Procurement Act 2023.
Answered by Cabinet Office: The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case. The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation …
Written QuestionHouse of LordsBaroness Ritchie of Downpatrick · Labour
Asked: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total value of the 12 contracts issued to Fujitsu in the last 12 months; and how many of these were new contracts rather than transitional arrangements.
Answered by Cabinet Office: The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case. The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation …