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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe evidence supports a serious criticism of the National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP): one former postmaster told the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry that he raised concerns through the federation’s local structure and that they were repeatedly played down. That is an individual account, not proof that every member was failed or a measure of how often members received inadequate support. NFSP’s own Inquiry statement acknowledged the harm and said it had urged interim payments; separate parliamentary evidence quoted a judge’s sharp criticism of the federation’s independence from the Post Office.
What one former postmaster said happened
At the Inquiry hearing on 2 March 2022, a former postmaster described being an NFSP member and raising concerns about Horizon through local representatives. He said they assumed the system could not be at fault and that “the issue was always played down.”
That testimony is direct evidence of how this member says his concerns were handled. It does not establish how many members approached the federation, what help each received, or whether the response was the same across local branches. The available material does not provide a reliable count of members who sought help and were inadequately supported.
The distinction matters: a federation can provide practical assistance to some members and still fail to challenge a system or employer robustly when others raise serious concerns. The witness’s account supports the latter criticism in his case; it cannot, on its own, quantify its reach.
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What the NFSP said about its role
In its opening statement to the Inquiry, the NFSP welcomed the process and acknowledged “the devastating effect on those individuals and their families” caused by Horizon and the Post Office’s operation of it. The federation said it had no direct role in establishing or delivering the compensation scheme, and that it had urged the government and Post Office to make interim payments without further delay.
This is the federation’s own account of its position in the Inquiry context. It recognizes the harm and records an appeal for interim compensation; it does not resolve the separate question of whether representatives acted independently or adequately when members first raised Horizon concerns.
Why independence became a central issue
In written evidence to Parliament, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) criticized the NFSP’s representation of postmasters and quoted Mr Justice Fraser’s judgment in the Bates litigation. Fraser wrote that “the NFSP is not remotely independent of the Post Office, nor does it appear to put its members’ interests above its own separate commercial interests”; the judgment also stated, “The Post Office effectively controls the NFSP.”
The sourcing distinction is important. Those are judicial criticisms as quoted in the CWU’s parliamentary submission. The submission is an advocacy document, and its other arguments should not be treated as court findings merely because it includes quotations from a judgment. The quoted passage nevertheless makes the independence concern more than a disagreement between the NFSP and a rival union: it reflects Fraser’s assessment in the litigation.
What the Inquiry can—and cannot—establish
The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is a statutory fact-finding process led by retired High Court judge Sir Wyn Williams. Its remit includes giving a public account of Horizon’s implementation and failings, the resulting suspensions, contract terminations, prosecutions and convictions, and whether lessons and cultural change have taken root. It hears from affected people and postmasters as well as the Post Office, Fujitsu and government bodies. Its first final-report volume focuses on human impact and redress.
The Inquiry’s broad remit helps put an individual account in context; it does not make that account a referendum on the federation as a whole. A sound assessment distinguishes firsthand recollection, NFSP’s description of its own actions, CWU’s advocacy and judicial criticism. The available evidence supports a substantial critique of representation and independence, but does not establish that NFSP caused Horizon’s technical defects or the Post Office prosecutions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this means for compensation now
Historical questions about representation are separate from the current process for obtaining redress. A Department for Business and Trade response published on 19 June 2026 described a £75,000 fixed-sum payment under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), said most HSS claimants had received redress without legal advice, and noted that some claimants who accepted an earlier fixed-sum offer without legal advice could seek permission to appeal. The department said it would fund advice for that process.
Those are statements in that dated government response, not findings about NFSP’s earlier conduct or a guarantee of what any individual claimant will receive. Scheme eligibility, appeal rules and available support can change; claimants should consult the latest official HSS guidance and Inquiry updates before acting.
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