Indefensible

How Lawyers Failed to Stop the Post Office Scandal
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-5292-5580-5
Verlag: Bristol University Press

Buch, Englisch, 286 Seiten, Format (B × H): 129 mm x 198 mm, Gewicht: 281 g

The Post Office Scandal is an indelible stain on the British justice system: hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly labelled criminals, ruining lives and destroying communities. But the real scandal was that the Post Office’s lawyers knew the evidence was flawed but failed to act in their quest to defend a corporation. Why did they not stop it?

This book dives into how legal professionals failed in their duties, silenced the truth and even turned against the victims, including accounts from victims who were advised to enter guilty pleas. But this is not just about the Post Office — this is a wider examination of the legal profession and its ethical boundaries, asking whether lawyers are putting clients' interests above justice and how to stop such a disaster from happening again.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hyde, John

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften Medienphilosophie, Medienethik, Medienrecht
• Rechtswissenschaften Wirtschaftsrecht Medienrecht
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Rechtsphilosophie, Rechtsethik
• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht Kriminologie, Strafverfolgung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. The Blame Game

2. The Start of It All

3. The Totem Poles

4. The Case That Could Have Stopped It All

5. ‘We Will Ruin You’

6. Drowning in Disclosure

7. Protect Horizon at All Costs

8. Pregnant Thief

9. Introducing Jarnail Singh

10. Red Flags Missed

11. Blind Denial

12. Horizon- Bashing Bandwagon

13. A Lack of Expertise

14. Shutting Down Transparency

15. Errors on Repeat

16. The Case against the Defence

17. Long Live the King

18. New Lawyers, Familiar Mistakes

19. Trouble in Sight

20. The Second Sight Report

21. Covert Recordings, Secret Meetings

22. This Has to End

23. Like a Naughty Schoolgirl

24. The Doomed Mediation

25. The Lawyer the Post Office Needed

26. A Question of Independence

27. Abusing the Privilege

28. See You in Court

29. Adversarial Litigation or Crossing a Line?

30. A Poorly Judged Request

31. The Difficult Second Judgment

32. Settling the Debate

33. No-Plane Jane

34. Analysis

Über Autor(innen)

John Hyde is one of the foremost legal journalists in the UK, with more than 15 years’ experience in reporting on the legal industry. He was a leading commentator on the Post Office scandal and live blogged daily from the inquiry. He started his journalism career in local news and is a regular speaker on radio, podcasts and at conferences.