Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether people who held senior management posts at the Post Office from 2006 to date will be called to give evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT public inquiry; and if he will make a statement.

I announced to the House on 19 May that, with the agreement of the Prime Minister, I will put the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry on to a statutory footing on 1 June 2021. This change will give Sir Wyn Williams powers to compel organisations to provide documents and witnesses to give evidence, under oath if necessary to ensure the Inquiry can get to the bottom of what happened and get the postmasters the answers they are looking for.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of my Department and so my Department does not have information on who will be called to appear before it to give evidence at the Inquiry hearings. This is for Sir Wyn Williams to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.