MPs have criticised the government for not acting over the Horizon IT scandal through its representative on the Post Office board, with one calling it a “fatal flaw” in the way it handles the governance of companies over which it has oversight.
The head of UK Government Investments (UKGI) – the body responsible for managing the portfolio of wholly or partially state-owned companies such as NatWest and Channel 4 – admitted the Post Office board needed to be questioned over its lack of “curiosity” about the scandal, which resulted in wrongful prosecution of more than 900 subpostmasters.