Watch: Alan Bates and Ex-Post Office chairman appear before inquiry

Watch as witnesses, including Alan Bates and ex-Post Office chairman Henry Staunton, appeared before the inquiry on Tuesday, 27 February.

The committee session discussed the Horizon IT scandal, which saw more than 700 subpostmasters handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty system made it appear that money was missing at their branches.

It was the subject of a recent critically acclaimed ITV series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones as the former sub-postmaster and founder of Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance.

Mr Bates answered questions at the inquiry today as well as Mr Staunton, who stepped down from the Post Office amid ongoing tensions last month.

Witnesses will update MPs on progress on redress to victims of the scandal.

The former WH Smith executive has since been involved in a row with Kemi Badenoch over delays to subpostmaster payouts.

Mr Staunton claimed he had been told to delay payouts to the subpostmasters affected, but the business secretary told MPs he had spread “made-up anecdotes” following his dismissal.