Like many of my colleagues across Parliament, I am genuinely upset by the cruel treatment of sub-postmasters who were accused of theft by the Post Office, based on evidence from the flawed Horizon IT system it knew to be flawed.

Victims' accounts of the impacts of these prosecutions are harrowing.

The damage inflicted cannot be undone, but we must establish what went wrong. I am acutely aware neither Post Office nor Fujitsu executives have been held directly accountable, and it is my most fervent wish their time in the dock should come.

However, the Government has now converted a public inquiry into the affair into a statutory inquiry, which gives its chairman – retired High Court judge Sir Wyn Williams – the necessary legal powers and time to conduct an in-depth analysis of the decisions that led to the scandal.

Sir Wyn has published his interim report online at postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk, and ministers will provide a formal response shortly.

The Government is determined to make compensation claims as soon as possible, and by August 2024.

However, time must be taken to assess more complex claims so that sub-postmasters receive full and fair compensation, and are not unduly rushed into making a decision. They have endured enough stress already.

To date, more than £148 million has been paid to 2,700 victims across all compensation schemes, 93 convictions have been overturned, and, of those, 30 have agreed final settlements. A little more than £30 million has been paid out in compensation to those with overturned convictions.

The harm that these prosecutions and lies have wreaked on the affected families over the past 20 years is irreparable.

This harm has consumed lives, broken families, and hollowed out some of the most dedicated servants of our small communities who never thought they would end up being casualties of gross corporate misconduct – because they worked for the Post Office, and were proud to do so.

ITV has deserved the plaudits it has received for its excellent drama series telling this story.

Aside from its clear artistic merits, I would like to congratulate ITV because the callous scale of the lying by the Post Office and Fujitsu really did have to be seen to be believed by the British public, and told as one story over time.

As you will, I hope, now be aware, emergency legislation is being introduced in Parliament to overturn convictions of all those convicted in England and Wales based on Post Office evidence given during the Horizon scandal.

This legislation and the quashing of these wrongful convictions will receive my unequivocal support in the House of Commons.