The Post Office Horizon scandal

The Post Office denied it. Helplines didn't help. The recommended channels led nowhere. For years, innocent staff struggled to persuade anyone that there was a problem with the Horizon accounting machines.

But determined investigators, and now the ITV drama Mr. Bates vs the Post Office, have brought a widespread understanding of — and outrage over — this miscarriage of justice.

Freedom of Information was key to uncovering evidence

It took sustained investigation from a number of different people — some professional journalists, others citizen reporters motivated by a strong sense of justice — to challenge the official narrative and uncover the facts that eventually made the truth impossible to hide: the Sub-Postmasters were innocent, and the Post Office had done them a terrible disservice.

Not sure where to begin with FOI?

Join our free masterclasses

As we've seen, FOI is a powerful tool, and that's why we're offering free training to campaign and advocacy groups who are working towards a better, fairer world.

If that sounds like you, sign up for one or more sessions on our Eventbrite page. Spaces are limited, so don't delay.

What's Parliament doing about it?

There was an emergency debate last week, which you can read on TheyWorkForYou, and there's talk of new legislation to quash the convictions of all wrongly-accused Sub-Postmasters.

Don't forget, for any topic you have a particular interest in, you can sign up for alerts and you'll receive an email every time your chosen keyword or phrase is mentioned in Parliament. It covers forthcoming business too, so it's a great way to keep abreast of the news. 

And if there's anything you want the government to know

You can write to your MP using WriteToThem (even if you don't know who your MP is ‐ all you need to know is your own postcode).

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