Richard Brooks Nick Wallis

Investigative journalist for Private Eye Richard Brooks explains how the Post Office, the British government and a global IT company ruined the lives of thousands of people.

Brooks first began writing about the Horizon scandal 15 years ag. He says the campaign for justice for postmasters is one of the most consequential campaigns for justice in British history. Brooks looks at political, institutional, professional and personal failures of the Government and the Post Office, which led to the widest miscarriage of justice on record and for which no-one has yet faced criminal charges.

Brooks has been writing for Private Eye for 20 years on a wide range of political; and financial scandals from influence-buying to money-laundering and tax avoidance. Here he talks to freelance journalist and broadcaster Nick Wallis, who has reported on the Post Office scandal in a series of broadcasts, news articles and in a book, The Great Post Office Scandal. He worked as series consultant on the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Brooks and Wallis won a special prize at the Paul Foot Awards for the special report they wrote together for Private Eye on the Horizon scandal.

This event is part of a series on the uncovering of public scandals and on campaigns against injustice.