A damning report into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal has concluded that at least 13 people may have taken their own lives after being accused of wrongdoing.

The report by Sir Wyn Williams says that subpostmasters suffered "totally unacceptable behaviour" from Post Office officials and Fujitsu - who were responsible for the Horizon computer system, adding it was "impossible to say" how many people have suffered as a result of the scandal, as he criticised the difficulties that victims face when trying to secure compensation.

Laid before Parliament on 8 July Sir Wyn made 19 urgent recommendations to resolve issues that are hindering full and fair redress, including that:

In the 162-page report, the Chair also details the scale of the suffering endured by those affected by the Horizon scandal.

Through 17 carefully chosen illustrations, Sir Wyn recounts how some people became seriously ill, struggled with mental health problems including alcohol addiction, and faced financial impacts such as bankruptcy.

He details how some people experienced reputational impacts or sadly passed away before receiving compensation. Elsewhere, he also highlights how some sub-postmasters were held liable for small amounts of money allegedly lost to the Post Office, while others were wrongly imprisoned.

Sir Wyn’s findings in the report are based on hearings and evidence submitted up until 6 June 2025. This spans around 225 days of hearings, 298 witnesses, with around 274,600 documents disclosed to Core Participants.

One of those who fell victim to the scandal was Llanfarian postmaster, Alun Lloyd Jones.

He was the local county councillor for more than 30 years, governor of the village school and sat on the regional police and crime panel.

Along with that he ran the village shop and post office.

So, when in 2007, bosses at the Post Office told him the books were £20,000 short, he was adamant that a mistake had been made.

Mr Lloyd Jones, like several other postmasters and mistresses across the country, was victim to a computer error, which led to false figures on the accounts of post offices and the threat of criminal prosecution from the Post Office.

Several were indeed jailed.

Around 18 years ago, the Horizon system, claimed that Mr Lloyd Jones was short of some £20,000, which he had to pay back using credit cards and remortgaging his home otherwise he would face prosecution.

He said: “According to the Post Office's computer system, ( Horizon ) I was short of some £20,000 or so, and to save being prosecuted, I raised the money to repay my so-called shortfall by using credit cards and remortgaging our home.

“It was a very difficult time - not just for me as I was involved in many aspects of public life ( County Council, Police & Crime Panel, Governor of a school, Chair of the local Community Council) and many other bodies, - but certainly for my family who suffered in so many different ways.

Mr Lloyd Jones was adamant that a mistake had been made when he was informed of the shortfall in 2007.

He even asked for auditors to be brought in, which was rejected by Post Office bosses, he says.

He even suggested calling the police in in case money had been stolen from the premises.

Mr Lloyd Jones was involved with Alan Bates, who was knighted last year for taking the fight to the Post Office and was the driving force to an ITV drama that highlighted the plight of postmasters across the country.

He could not continue with the campaign though after his daughter, Liz became ill with cancer and sadly died in 2015 aged just 40 years old.

Speaking to the Cambrian News following the publication of Sir Wyn’s report, Mr Lloyd Jones said: “My daughter Lizzie died without ever knowing that her father had been cleared of what he was accused of.

“I will never forgive them for that.

“So many others have suffered as well.

“I am pleased to read the initial findings but I wont hold my breath until meaningful action is taken.

“Promises aren’t worth the paper they’re written on until they are fulfilled.

“This is the beginning and I truly hope things will change, but they need to move at a quicker pace.

“They have ruined families and they have ruined communities

“Llanfarian had a post office for 100 years and doesn’t now.

“It used to be a hub for the village and I would talk to people as their councillor and help them with their forms for passports etc.

“That is now gone.

“They’ve betrayed me and they have betrayed communities across this country.

“The innocent were punished and I hope the punishment when it comes fits the crime.

“They have caused so much heartbreak.

“They are saying we may see court action in 2028 - that’s not good enough. They need to stop dragging their heels. This has gone on long enough.

“Justice must now replace injustice.”

The report finds that those wrongfully convicted were "subject to hostile and abusive behaviour" in their local communities, felt shame and embarrassment, with some feeling forced to move.

Sir Wyn writes that, despite the Government and Post Office appearing to show a genuine desire to provide redress which is full and fair, and delivered promptly, there have been “formidable difficulties in the way of achieving those aims”.

Considering each of the four redress schemes in turn, Sir Wyn finds that claimants to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme did not receive full and fair redress.

Sir Wyn writes: “I am persuaded that in the difficult and substantial claims, on too many occasions, the Post Office and its advisors have adopted an unnecessarily adversarial attitude towards making initial offers which have had the effect of depressing the level at which settlements have been achieved.”

He also discusses how a ‘fear factor’ has been removed from the Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeals process. This is because every claimant who chooses to have a claim assessed may appeal the offer made “safe in the knowledge that there is no risk of losing a prior better offer.”

Considering this, he questions why this ‘fear factor’ has not been removed for sub-postmasters who must choose whether to take the fixed term offer or have a compensation assessment.

He writes: “Why is it appropriate to remove the fear factor from the HSSA but rigidly retain it in relation to the choice made by claimants between the Fixed Sum Offer and assessment? Try as I might, I cannot see the justification for these different approaches.”

For this reason, Sir Wyn recommends that anyone applying for a compensation scheme who has chosen to have their claim assessed should be allowed to take the fixed sum offer instead up to three months after receiving their first assessed offer.

He also recommends that the Government should publish a document explaining the ‘best offer principle’ in practice.

Sir Wyn criticises the lack of legal advice available to Horizon Shortfall Scheme applicants.

He writes: “I regard it as unconscionable and wholly unfair that claimants in HSS are unable to obtain legal advice, paid for by the Department, about whether they should opt for the Fixed Sum Offer or assessment of their claims. Yet the Department continues to resist this as if its life depended upon it.”

Considering this, he writes that anyone claiming compensation through the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) should be entitled to legal advice, funded by the Department of Business and Trade.

This would help them choose whether to accept the Fixed Sum Offer or to seek financial address which is assessed.

Through first-hand accounts, Sir Wyn concludes that there are likely a number of close family members of those who have been affected by the Horizon scandal who have “endured and may still endure considerable suffering”.

For this reason, he recommends “that such family members should be able to obtain financial redress which recognises their own suffering.” He writes that the Department should draw up plans for providing this redress.

Another postmaster who ended up being jailed was former Gwynedd county councillor, Dewi Lewis.

Dewi Lewis, who ran Siop Dewi in Penrhyndeudraeth, was jailed in 2011 after auditors said they had discovered a £53,000 discrepancy in the books of the village post office at Siop Dewi.

Mr Lewis, who was a senior county councillor with responsibility for the economy in Gwynedd, resigned from his role and paid back the money after his then-84-year-old father remortgaged his house.

He was handed a 16 month jail term, of which he served four months and had to wear a tag for four months.

Following the revelations of the Post Office Horizon scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters convicted of crimes they had not committed, Mr Lewis has received a letter from the Ministry of Justice, informing him that his 2011 conviction has been quashed.

Reacting to the report this week, Mr Lewis told BBC Breakfast he was under "great pressure" to plead guilty at the time, as he was being threatened with more allegations and charges against him.

Mr Lewis said that being imprisoned in this way had "completely destroyed life" and that reopening those wounds was "difficult".

"I want people to realise what the impact was. I was very, very lucky.

"The society did it here, fellow politicians - a few exceptions of course - but the society and family to support me all the time.

"No one could believe what was happening."

Mr Lewis doesn't think that people - the Post Office and the government in particular - "have realized what the real impact on people was".

"We know that unfortunately there are those who have not been able to face it and have taken their own lives and almost 100 by now, I think, of those whose names were cleared, have left us."

Sir Wyn also urged for meaningful reforms to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme.

Understanding the need for swift action, Sir Wyn has decided to publish the first volume of his final report as soon as possible.

On timings for a government response to these findings, Sir Wyn writes: “No purpose would be served by HM Government or the Department delaying consideration of my recommendations until the remainder of my Report is delivered.

“The whole reason for delivering this volume of my report in advance of the remaining volume is that appropriate action in relation to the schemes for redress can be taken as soon as reasonably possible.”

The Post Office said in a statement that they sincerely apologise for the suffering they have caused.

According to a spokesperson, the investigation has "brought these terrible stories to life".

"Their experiences represent a shameful period in our history.

"We will consider the content of the report and the recommendations carefully."

Post Office Minister, Gareth Thomas, said: “I welcome the Inquiry’s publication and pay tribute to Sir Wyn and his team for their comprehensive and penetrating work.

“We must never lose sight of the Horizon Scandal’s human impact on postmasters and their families, which the Inquiry has highlighted so well.

“Sir Wyn’s report highlights a series of failings by the Post Office and various governments.

“His recommendations are immensely helpful as a guide for what is needed to finish the job, and we will respond in full to Parliament after carefully considering them.”