BBC and ITV executives have been summoned by the government to account for their broadcasters' roles in the long-running Post Office Horizon IT scandal, which has been described as one of the most widespread miscarriages of justice in UK history.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has demanded a meeting with the bosses of the UK's two largest broadcasters. She is seeking answers on why the full scale of the scandal, which saw over 900 sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted due to faulty Fujitsu software, was not uncovered by investigative journalists sooner.
Decades of Injustice
The scandal, which unfolded over nearly two decades, saw hundreds of sub-postmasters and mistresses accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting. Many faced financial ruin, imprisonment, and devastating personal trauma. The recent ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office has been widely credited with finally catapulting the issue into the public consciousness, triggering national outrage.
This has led to intense scrutiny of the media's performance. Critics argue that while the story was reported by outlets like Computer Weekly and Private Eye years ago, it failed to gain mainstream traction from major broadcasters until the recent dramatization.
Government Demands Accountability
In a letter seen by the PA news agency, Ms. Frazer stated she was "concerned" about the public service broadcasters' handling of the story. She has called for the meeting to discuss their "apparent overlooking" of the scandal and to understand what lessons have been learned to ensure such a failure is not repeated.
The government's intervention raises significant questions about the role and responsibility of public service broadcasters in holding powerful institutions to account.
A Scandal Unfolding
The fallout continues at a rapid pace. Former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells has agreed to hand back her CBE following public pressure. The government has announced plans for a new law to swiftly exonerate and compensate victims, and an ongoing public inquiry is examining the failings in detail.
The meeting between the Culture Secretary and the broadcasters is expected to take place in the coming weeks, adding another layer to the ongoing national reckoning over the scandal.
