UKResearch
Post Office paid law firms £25m for Horizon redress work in 2025/26, FOI shows
A Law Gazette freedom-of-information disclosure shows the Post Office paid external law firms £25 million in 2025/26 for advice on Horizon-related compensation schemes, bringing total external legal spend since 2014 to £334 million. Herbert Smith Freehills received £14.1 million in the year and £202 million since the Bates litigation; Pinsent Masons, which took over the work, received £5.8 million. External legal spending more than halved versus the prior year.
Key points
- FOI figures show £25 million paid to law firms in 2025/26 for Horizon redress-scheme advice, excluding the ongoing Lee Castleton defense spend.Law Gazette
- Total Post Office external legal spending since 2014 reached £334 million.Law Gazette
- Herbert Smith Freehills received £14.1 million in 2025/26 and £202 million since Bates; Pinsent Masons received £5.8 million after taking over the work.Law Gazette
- DAC Beachcroft, Burges Salmon and Peters & Peters each received at least £1 million in the year; remediation-unit legal costs are about £160 million.Law Gazette