Post Office corporate culture at root of Horizon scandal – Business Secretary

What happened?

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said that the Post Office's corporate culture was at the root of the Horizon IT scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of crimes.

Kwarteng told MPs that the Post Office had a "culture of bullying and intimidation" that made it difficult for sub-postmasters to raise concerns about the Horizon system.

What did Kwarteng say?

Kwarteng said that the Post Office had "failed to take responsibility" for the scandal and had "consistently sought to blame others".

He said that the government would be taking steps to ensure that the Post Office "learns from its mistakes" and that "those responsible for the scandal are held to account".

What is the Horizon scandal?

The Horizon scandal was a major miscarriage of justice that saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of crimes, including theft and fraud.

The scandal was caused by a faulty IT system called Horizon, which was introduced by the Post Office in 1999.

Horizon was supposed to help sub-postmasters manage their accounts, but it often made errors that led to sub-postmasters being accused of stealing money.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly convicted of crimes and many lost their businesses and homes.

The scandal has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history.