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BRIEFING: THE POST OFFICE INQUIRY – INSIGHTS ON GOVERNANCE AND CULTURE FROM THE PUBLIC INQUIRY

February 25 2025

CEF and the Public Sector Chairs’ Forum are delighted to join with the Institute of Directors to host this briefing on the Post Office / Horizon IT scandal.

This represents one of the worst scandals in UK corporate and legal history, and is the subject of the ongoing Public Inquiry, which is due to publish its findings later this year.

The IoD has produced a detailed paper, including a series of recommendations, aimed at directors and policy makers on the basis of the evidence heard at Phase 6 of the Inquiry, relating to governance: IoD The Post Office Scandal – A Failure of Governance

At this event, Dr Roger Barker, IoD’s Director of Policy & Corporate Governance will present the report and lead the discussion around the report’s recommendations on how to prevent such failings in future.

The event will address:

  • Who was ultimately responsible for the Post Office scandal? Was it primarily the board’s fault, or must others take their share of the blame?
  • More than 80 people served on the Post Office board between 2000 and 2020. Why did so many apparently experienced and well-qualified directors fail to prevent the scandal? Can we be confident that different people might have delivered a better outcome?
  • Does the Post Office scandal suggest that the role of non-executive director is not working as it should? How can we make NEDs more effective?
  • Thousands of innocent people were prosecuted and/or financially ruined by the Post Office during the scandal. Why did a major organisation fail so badly in terms of business ethics? What lessons can we learn to ensure that our own organisations are not subject to similar ethical lapses?
  • Is there a need for directors to be better trained and prepared for their board level roles? Why are directors so reluctant to acquire this training?

It will commence at 3.30pm, with networking and refreshments available from 3.00pm.

This event is free of charge to members of the Chief Executives’ Forum and the Public Sector Chairs’ Forum and can be booked by clicking on the REGISTER button above and enter the password "topcat" when prompted.