The abuse of unaccountable power is at the wicked heart of the post office scandal

[Eugene]

1. Plans to reform private prosecutions after Post Office Horizon scandal

Plans to reform private prosecutions after Post Office Horizon scandal (The Observer)

Improved oversight and a law to strip organisations of their power to take people to court are among measures gaining cross-party support

Plans to overhaul the growing “cottage industry” of private prosecutions are already being urgently examined by ministers in the wake of the Post Office scandal, including measures that could see untrustworthy bodies barred from pursuing them.

Labour is also understood to be drawing up its own reform package this weekend after the outcry prompted by the Post Office’s use of private prosecutions against more than 700 post office subpostmasters. It means that there is growing scope for a cross-party commitment to complete any reforms after the election.

A new inspection regime for private prosecutors, a binding code of standards and the creation of a new power to strip an organisation of its power to conduct them are all being discussed in Whitehall.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/13/plans-to-reform-private-prosecutions-after-post-office-horizon-scandal