TRANSCRIPT
It is one of Britian's worst miscarriages of justice; the subject of a recent I-T-V drama called 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office'.
"The computer system the post office spent an arm and a leg on is faulty.
No one else has ever reported any problems with Horizon. No one.
You're responsible for the loss.
I haven't gotten that money and I don't know where it's gone.
These deficits were most likely caused by you, that is the Post Office.
All our hopes, all our savings down the pan.
That was a lie, actually.
We're fighting a war against an enemy owned by the British government, while we're just skint little people.
This is about the reputation of the post office.
It's not, it's about people's lives, you moron."
'Mr Bates versus The Post Office' tells the story of the hundreds of Post Office workers wrongfully convicted of theft, fraud and dishonest accounting.
So what happened?
Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office implemented the Horizon computer system for financial management in its branches.
But the system developed by Fujitsu had technical issues, including bugs and glitches, that led to the generation of inaccurate accounting reports that indicated money was missing - when it was not.
But The Post Office has maintained for years that data from the defective Horizon computer accounting system was reliable, and accused 700 subpostmasters of theft, fraud and false accounting.
Even though many of them complained, they were each told by officials that they were the only one with a problem.
Many subpostmasters were prosecuted and sent to prison, they and others losing their homes, businesses, livelihoods, with many a marriage destroyed.
Some have since died without ever having their names cleared.
But in 2019, the High Court found the Horizon system faulty.
In 2020, a public inquiry was initiated and in April of 2021, 39 convictions against subpostmasters were quashed.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is now demanding justice for all the accused.
"The stories are appalling, people were treated absolutely appallingly, that's wrong and we should do everything we can to make it right."
Keir Starmer is leader of the British Opposition Labour Party.
"I think the whole Post Office prosecution scandal is exactly that, a scandal, with a massive impact on human lives. I know one of the individuals affected who had a stroke because of the intense pressure that this was causing. So we've got to get ahead of this."
Kevin Hollinrake is Parliamentary Under-secretary of State for Enterprise and Markets.
"Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The Post Office scandal is one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation's history, shaking people's faith in the principles of equity and fairness that form the core pillars of our legal system."
Now Post Office scandal victims like Alan Bates, who is played by actor Toby Jones in the docu-drama, are demanding compensation.
"This money is only what they're owed. This is money to put them back in a position that they would have been in, had Post Office not done what they did to them. ... People need to get on with their lives. They need to be able to draw a line under it, they'll never forget it, but they've got to be able to get on. And unfortunately, they do need money to keep them going."
This is former subpostmaster Lee Castleton.
“We're just normal people, run of the mill people. We have legal people with us. But it's so difficult. It's like a war."
On the fact that it took a TV docu-drama to prompt a response from politicians, Mr Bates has this to say.
"It's frustrating, but I'm glad it's happened. At least it enables them to now understand, and a broader audience understand, what's happening, or been happening to sub-postmasters. ... I think there's going to be a lot more political attention on this and it will build the momentum and hopefully bring speedy resolution, certainly to all those who are still waiting for the financial redress in all of this, which has been so lacking throughout many, many years in their lives."
Paula Vennells, the chief executive of the Post Office at the time of the scandal, was honoured with a prestigious Commander of the Order British Empire national award in 2019 for her "services to the Post Office and to charity."
But since the docu-drama aired, more than a million people signed an online petition calling for the honour to be withdrawn, the amount of support from the British public, surprising Mr Bates.
"The last couple of weeks have been absolutely bananas (crazy), I think it's fair to say. I mean, one thing after another, I haven't been able to put the phone down. I mean, I've it's great in some way. I mean, huge amount of support for the victims in all of this."
Ms Vennells said in a statement she is handing back the award, as the Metropolitan Police investigate the Post Office for fraud.
