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The Bar Standards Board (BSB), which oversees more than 18,000 barristers in England and Wales, said it has 10 live investigations into alleged misconduct that are “progressing”, adding that it “will take enforcement action” where necessary. The cases are expected to reach its decision-making panel, the Independent Decision Making Body, by the end of the year.

A spokesperson for the BSB said: “We recognise the impact the Horizon scandal has had on the lives of sub-postmasters and mistresses, their families, and communities. We also acknowledge its effect on public confidence in the bar.”

The regulator also said it is “finalising the consideration” of 111 cases in which sub-postmasters were convicted and later cleared by the Court of Appeal, in order to “ensure that all proportionate areas of investigation have been identified and assessed.”

The scandal saw more than 900 sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted for theft and fraud between 1999 and 2009 due to faulty software developed by Fujitsu. It later emerged, following calls from MPs for transparency over legal fees, that City law firms earned millions from the cases while many victims were still awaiting compensation.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is also conducting 20 live investigations into firms and individuals who acted for the Post Office.

In March, the SRA said the inquiries include “serious allegations of solicitors acting with a lack of integrity” across a number of areas. The investigations are focused on how cases were managed and supervised, as well as the conduct of litigation and the wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters. It has not disclosed who is under investigation.