The Post Office Horizon software scandal came direct into our living rooms again this morning (January 10) as affected former sub-postmasters took to BBC Breakfast and Radio 5 Live’s Nicky Campbell show en masse to talk about their experiences.
Yesterday, former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells confirmed she would hand back her CBE for ‘services to the Post Office,’ while the government said it was looking into ways to fast track the quashing of the remainder of more than 700 convictions of former sub-postmaters brought about by the faulty accounting software system.
The sudden rise of the scandal in the public, and political, consciousness can largely be attributed to the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which debuted on New Year’s Day and as of yesterday afternoon had reached at least 14.8m viewers in the seven days since.
It has also come some 25 years after the Horizon system was first rolled out in 1999, 24 years after the first six convictions relying on Horizon data were made in 2000, and too late for at least 60 former sub-postmasters who have died before they could clear their names. Many others have faced prison, financial ruin and unimaginable strain on their mental health over the same period.
Nine former postmasters or relatives representing them appeared on BBC Breakfast, where viewers heard heartbreaking tales including:
- Tom Hedges, from Skegness, who said his family overheard him being accused of “stealing pensioners’ money”
- Scott Darlington, from Macclesfield, who said he was told to plead guilty to reduce the risk being sent to prison – even though he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong
- Varchas Patel, who appeared on behalf of his father Vipin who is unwell due to stress caused by his wrongful conviction. Varchas said there were “wanted, dead or alive” posters put up in the area around their Post Office during the scandal
- Sally Stringer – who had to pay the Post Office £50,000 of her own money to make up a shortfall – demanded answers from Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake, saying compensation needed to be speeded up
For his part, Hollinrake referred to the ongoing Post Office Inquiry, being chaired by Sir Wyn Williams, and said he expects it to report back by the end of the year. He added that the government is “very, very close” to announcing how it will overturn wrongful convictions.
Yesterday, The Guardian reported that more than 100 former postmasters had contacted lawyers since the show aired, though the BBC Breakfast piece seemed to suggest that number may be a very conservative estimate. Solicitor Neil Hudgill told the show that he alone has taken “well into three figures,” rising by the day, of calls since Mr Bates… aired:
Over on 5 Live, we heard from Janet Skinner, who was ordered to pay £11,000, went to prison and lost her house before her conviction was overturned in 2021. Addressing the government’s sudden rush of activity following the public outcry over the ITV drama Skinner said: “They could’ve moved forward years ago. They’ve known about it for years and years.”
Mr Bates vs The Post Office is available on demand on ITVX now. The real life drama continues.
