Post Office campaign chief Sir Alan Bates said he hoped the “real bad guys” involved in the IT scandal would be held to account.
Sir Alan said “many” people had “dropped the ball” on the issue, including government figures and senior leaders.
The official inquiry into the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters after faulty Horizon software revealed money was missing from their Post Office branch accounts will hear final submissions from lawyers this week.
Sir Alan added that he hoped inquiry chairman Sir Wyn Williams would “name names in this one”.
In an interview with the BBC's World at One, the former deputy postmaster said he hoped public scrutiny would ensure justice was done.
“A lot of us know who the culprits are. That's really what we're looking forward to,” Sir Alan said.
Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of people were wrongly prosecuted after Fujitsu's faulty Horizon IT accounting system made it appear that money was missing.
Many lost their livelihoods or were forced to make up their deficit, while others reported feeling excluded from their communities. Some former deputy postmasters committed suicide.
The hearing into the scandal has been running since February 2022 and has heard from ministers, chief executives and deputy postmasters.
Earlier this year, ITV drama series Mr Bates v the Post Office captured the public imagination and won numerous awards with its focus on the human stories behind the scandal.
Sir Alan said “the country will hold a number of people to account on this and they will want to see real justice as a result.”
Sir Wyn's final report into the scandal is due to be published next year, but Sir Alan said he feared it would be “put on a shelf” and not much would happen as a result. following.
While the investigation is coming to an end, many former directors of La Poste agencies are still waiting to finalize the compensation owed to them.
Sir Alan said his latest offer of compensation, which he rejected, was worth a third of his original demand. The first relief offer was for one-sixth of his original claim, he said.
His claim was now referred to Sir Ross Cranston, a former High Court judge, who is the independent reviewer of the GLO Post Office project, he said.
He added that many deputy postmasters hoped to “put this behind them”, but would continue to “push through”.
Concerns were raised about the length of the process, while Sir Alan said the Government was paying lawyers “hundreds of millions” rather than settling with postmasters.
