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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent

What is the Post Office Horizon bill and why is it controversial?

Post Office England Wales
A post office sign
The government has said that, before receiving compensation, post office operators will have to sign a legal statement vowing that they are innocent. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

The Post Office (Horizon system) offences bill, published on Wednesday, will quash the convictions of people resulting from the scandal, which involved hundreds being wrongly prosecuted on the basis of a faulty IT system. Here the Guardian explains the thinking behind the bill and why it is controversial.

What does the bill do?

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