Government to discuss handing ownership of Post Office to its operators

Post office operators celebrating outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, in 2021 after their convictions were overturned. Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

The government is to meet representatives of post office operators this week to discuss the possibility of handing them ownership of the Post Office.

The move follows a chastening few months for the government and the network after historical scandals – frequently described as “the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history” – caught the public imagination with the broadcast of ITV’s drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office.