Bureaucracy Blocks Justice

Former Business Secretary and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has strongly criticized the government’s handling of compensation for subpostmasters impacted by the Horizon IT scandal, condemning bureaucratic delays that have hindered payments. Speaking at the inquiry, Badenoch voiced her frustration over what she described as excessive red tape, noting that officials consistently raised procedural barriers, saying, “Our goal was to get the compensation out quickly, yet there was always a reason it couldn’t happen.”

Badenoch's testimony underscored a perception of the Post Office as an outdated entity struggling to adapt to modern challenges, suggesting that if it were privately owned, it would likely have been restructured long ago. Her statement highlighted that the Post Office’s survival in its current form has come at the cost of a rigid culture resistant to change.

This inquiry, which has heard from multiple witnesses, seeks to address the failures of the Horizon accounting system — a faulty software that led to the wrongful prosecution of over 900 subpostmasters between 1999 and 2015. Although the previous government pledged £600,000 compensation to those who had convictions overturned, hundreds remain uncompensated.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds also testified, acknowledging the Post Office’s “corporate culture” as central to the scandal. He committed to ensuring full and prompt redress, noting a recent acceleration in compensation payments, though he cautioned that the process must remain fair and accurate.

Reynolds further remarked on the ongoing importance of the Post Office in the UK, advocating for reforms to better align subpostmasters’ compensation with public expectations. However, he indicated that achieving this might require a substantial overhaul of the institution’s business model to sustain its relevance and support local communities.

As the inquiry progresses, questions of accountability and long-term changes continue to shape the future of the Post Office, an organization integral to national life yet burdened by the legacy of a costly scandal.