Summary

  • Former Post Office chairman Sir Michael Hodgkinson has given evidence to the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal

  • He apologised "unreservedly" and said he was "very very sorry" for the misery the Horizon software caused to sub-postmasters and mistresses

  • Earlier, former managing director David Smith apologised for a 2010 email saying a pregnant sub-postmistress's prison sentence was "brilliant news"

  • Seema Misra, from Surrey, was given a 15-month sentence in November 2010 - the conviction was quashed in 2021

  • "It was intended to be a congratulatory email to the team... I am hugely apologetic," Smith said

  • Smith also said the Post Office was focusing on restructuring in 2010, rather than the prosecutions of sub-postmasters

  • And he said he was told by Post Office executives Paula Vennells and Susan Creighton that Horizon was "pretty much tamper proof"

  • Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted due to the faulty Horizon IT system

Live Reporting

Edited by Nadia Ragozhina and Robert Plummer

  1. A timeline of the Post Office Horizon scandal

    A still from ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Officem where all the cast members are lined up and holding a banner which says "support our sub-postmasters"ITV

    Sub-postmasters as portrayed in ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office

    • 1999: The Horizon accounting system is rolled out in Post Offices across the UK
    • 2000: The first issue with the system is reported by Alan Bates, sub-postmaster of a branch in Wales
    • 2003: Bates loses his job after refusing to accept responsibility for missing funds in the branch accounts
    • 2004: More sub-postmasters find themselves being asked questions about missing funds - at times in the tens of thousands of pounds. Jobs are lost, some are declared bankrupt and some eventually sent to prison
    • 2010: A high-profile case of wrongful conviction occurs - pregnant Surrey sub-postmaster Seema Misra is jailed after being accused of stealing £74,000
    • 2012: Formal investigations into the Horizon software begin
    • 2015: The Post Office halts private prosecutions of sub-postmasters
    • 2017: Legal action is launched against the Post Office by a group of 555 sub-postmasters
    • 2019: Post Office CEO Paula Vennells stands down, before the company agrees to pay £58m to the 555 sub-postmasters
    • 2021: The public inquiry into the scandal begins
    • 2023: The government announces that every wrongly convicted sub-postmaster will be offered £600,000 in compensation
    • 2024: There's a resurgence of interest in the scandal after ITV releases a mini-series titled Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Vennells hands back her CBE
    • 2024: The government introduces new legislation to speed up clearing victims' names and paying compensation

  2. Smith described conviction of pregnant sub-postmaster as 'brilliant news'

    Seema MisraPA Media

    Seema Misra was a sub-postmaster at a West Byfleet branch of the Post Office.

    She was given a 15 month jail sentence, and served prison time while pregnant with her second son, over an alleged £70,000 shortfall at her branch.

    Misra lied to her parents, who were living in India and have since died, to protect them from the truth.

    When her parents phoned from India wanting to talk to their daughter, her husband told them she was out.

    David Smith - one the witnesses called to the inquiry today - was managing director of the Post Office at the time of her conviction.

    At the time, he described it as "brilliant news", according to evidence submitted to the inquiry. Misra's conviction was later quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2021.

  3. Who is David Smith?

    Image of David Smith - wearing glasses and rain coat - on his way into the inquiryPA Media

    David Smith was briefly managing director of the Post Office - before Paula Vennells - from April to October 2010.

    Amid renewed coverage of the Horizon scandal during his time in charge, Smith commissioned a report into the software - the findings of which insisted the system was “robust”.

    Earlier on in the inquiry, the author of that report said he was told to present just “one side of the coin”, and find reasons to be “assured” about the reliability of the Horizon system.

    His time as managing director also coincided with the prosecution of Seema Misra, who was wrongly jailed while pregnant. Smith greeted that conviction as "brilliant news," according to evidence submitted at the inquiry.

    After his time in the job, he moved on to become chief customer officer of Royal Mail.

  4. Former Post Office bosses before inquiry today

    Nathan Williams
    Live editor

    A Post Office signPA Media

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the ongoing inquiry into the Post Office scandal.

    Today we’ll be hearing evidence from David Smith, who briefly filled in as managing director of the Post Office from April to October 2010. He then went on to become chief customer officer of Royal Mail.

    Then this afternoon Sir Michael Hodgkinson will be giving evidence. He was head of Post Office Limited from May 2003 until August 2007.

    We'll be bringing you the latest developments from the inquiry throughout the day, along with analysis from our team.

    You can also watch the inquiry when it begins by pressing the Play icon at the top of this page.