Tuesday briefing: How a TV drama is helping bring justice in the Post Office scandal

In today’s newsletter: Since Mr Bates v The Post Office aired on ITV, dozens of people affected have come forward to seek recompense for their ruined lives

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Good morning. It is almost a quarter of a century since a new digital accounting system was rolled out across the Post Office. In 2000, sub-postmaster Alan Bates first reported his concerns about unexplained discrepancies in the Horizon software. It is 15 years since Computer Weekly first revealed the stories of some of the sub-postmasters who had been wrongly fined or imprisoned after convictions for false accounting, five years since the first tranche of 555 workers won a landmark legal victory against the Post Office, and two years since a public inquiry started to hear evidence into the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.

And yet the story is far from over. Today, only 93 of 736 convictions have been overturned, and only 30 people have accepted final compensation settlements. Now, an ITV drama centred on Bates’ story has brought a new focus to the scandal – and yesterday, ministers agreed urgent plans to clear the victims’ names.

Gaza | The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has arrived in Tel Aviv for potentially difficult meetings with Israeli leaders and officials who have repeatedly resisted pressure from Washington over their conduct of the war against Hamas. Tensions in the region continued to rise on Monday with an Israeli airstrike killing an elite Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon.

Education | Student loans in England will cost the government an extra £11bn a year – equivalent to 16% of all schools spending in England - because of higher interest rates increasing the cost of borrowing, new analysis suggests. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says that a spike in rates paid by the government means that it will now lose money even on loans that are repaid in full.

Climate crisis | The internationally agreed threshold to prevent the Earth from spiraling into a new superheated era will be “passed for all practical purposes” during 2024, the man known as the godfather of climate science has warned. James Hansen told the Guardian: “We are now in the process of moving into the 1.5C world.”

Boeing | United Airlines has found loose bolts and other “installation issues” on multiple 737 Max 9 aircraft, it said yesterday, referring to the Boeing model that was grounded after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated plane mid-flight. As Boeing shares fell 8% on Monday, Alaska Airlines said its technicians had found “loose hardware” on some of its 737 Max 9 aircraft.

Conservatives | Rishi Sunak has refused to endorse Helen Harrison, partner of the disgraced former MP Peter Bone, to replace Bone as the Conservative candidate in the Wellingborough byelection. Harrison’s selection drew controversy after local voters triggered a recall of Bone because of revelations about his behaviour.