Chair calls for swift action to deliver full and fair compensation in urgent report

Sir Wyn Williams published the first volume of his final report today (08/07/25), 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 today, 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. 

Watch Sir Wyn's address on his report's findings and recommendations

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. 

Legal Advice

Sir Wyn criticises the lack of legal advice available to Horizon Shortfall Scheme applicants. 

He writes: “I regard it as unconscionable and wholly unfair that claimants in HSS are unable to obtain legal advice, paid for by the Department, about whether they should opt for the Fixed Sum Offer or assessment of their claims. Yet the Department continues to resist this as if its life depended upon it.”

Considering this, he writes that anyone claiming compensation through the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) should be entitled to legal advice, funded by the Department of Business and Trade. 

This would help them choose whether to accept the Fixed Sum Offer or to seek financial address which is assessed. 

Compensation for family members

Through first-hand accounts, Sir Wyn concludes that there are likely a number of close family members of those who have been affected by the Horizon scandal who have “endured and may still endure considerable suffering”.

For this reason, he recommends “that such family members should be able to obtain financial redress which recognises their own suffering.” He writes that the Department should draw up plans for providing this redress. 

Reforms to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme

Sir Wyn also urged for meaningful reforms to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme.

For instance, he proposes that:

  • A senior lawyer should be appointed to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme who can take actions to make sure compensation offers are made and assessed as soon as possible.
  • That the appointed senior lawyer should be given powers to help them ensure that offers are assessed as soon as practicable.
  • The Post Office and Department of Business and Trade should be required to make compensation offers that are equal or higher than the amount recommended by the independent advisory panel.
  • The ‘Best Offer Principle’ should apply for those applying for compensation through the Group Litigation Scheme. This means that if a sub-postmaster appeals their compensation offer and the appeal is successful, they will receive whichever offer is higher.
  • Anyone applying for a compensation scheme who has chosen to have their claim assessed may decide to take the fixed sum offer instead up to three months after receiving their first assessed offer.

Restorative justice 

Restorative justice is the process of bringing together people who have caused harm and those affected by it, so they can discuss the impact, take responsibility, and work collaboratively on making amends. 

Sir Wyn urges that Fujitsu, Post Office and the Government should either together, or separately, publish a report by October 2025, outlining an agreed programme of restorative justice or any actions they have taken to produce this programme. 

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.”

Please note the report contains contents which some may find distressing, including mentions of suicide and self-harm.

 

ENDS 

Notes

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