Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Information Commissioner's Office's decision to issue a reprimand rather than a fine to the Post Office following the disclosure of the personal information of postmasters involved in the Horizon IT scandal.

The Post Office has rightly apologised for the data breach to which the noble Lord refers, which added to the injustice which this group of postmasters had already experienced. I understand that the Post Office has paid compensation for the breach. It is for the Information Commissioner, as an independent regulator, to decide what penalties are appropriate.