A Herbert Smith Freehills partner has denied that the firm is “profiting from subpostmasters’ misery”, as the role of law firms in the Post Office Horizon scandal continues to be scrutinised.

Alan Watts, a disputes partner with HSF—which FOI requests show has received £163.6 million in legal fees from the Post Office up to March this year—rejected the suggestion while appearing before the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee.