Weekly Column
One of the most powerful TV dramas in recent years is undoubtedly “Mr Bates vs The Post Office.” Except it wasn’t fictional. This was a searing account of the Post Office scandal - one of the greatest miscarriages of justice seen in this country.
It detailed the Horizon scandal which saw thousands of postmasters falsely accused of stealing money due to a flawed IT system. Everyone who watched this will have been profoundly moved by the devastating impact on people who were the pillars of their communities and treated with vindictiveness.
“You’re the only one”. This pernicious line was told repeatedly to innocent postmasters whose system showed financial shortfalls they were expected to make good. They have faced financial ruin, huge personal distress, and destruction of their reputations. 927 people were convicted. Many of those affected have died since the scandal first came to light and tragically some took their own lives after being falsely accused.
The programme has done a great service by bringing this scandal to greater public awareness and reinforced the urgency to see justice done. In 2019, 555 postmasters bravely took on the Post Office in Court and won bringing the scandal to the public eye. In 2021 the Court of Appeal overturned convictions. A public inquiry set up by the government is well underway in exposing what went wrong and who was responsible.
But whether courts or governments, it has taken far too long to deal with this scandal and we need to reflect on how to address that in future.
Justice includes paying compensation. £148 million has been paid to 2,700 victims. Anyone who has a conviction overturned can claim a £600,000 award or seek a full assessment. Just over £30 million has been paid to those with overturned convictions so far. Where people were not convicted but were affected, there is another compensation scheme.
While I have not been contacted by constituents caught up in this horror, I encourage anyone who was to come forward where support and compensation is available.
Compensation needs to be paid faster and convictions overturned quicker. The aim is to pay all compensation by August. In terms of convictions, the existing process is too slow so we need a better approach that can deal with all the cases rapidly and restore the good names of those caught up in this nightmare.
After the conclusion of the public inquiry establishes culpability, robust action must be taken. It cannot be right the taxpayer alone is on the hook for funding entirely justified compensation. Almost two years ago in Parliament, I urged recovery of compensation costs from those responsible for this scandal.
The belated handing back of a CBE by the Chief Executive for much of the relevant period in the face of 1 million people signing a petition is only the start. Ministers at the time particularly the current Leader of the Liberal Democrats face serious questions about what they did in the face of pleas from postmasters. Post Office bosses who got bonuses should have them taken back.
Four hours of drama captured a battle over 20 years. Now is the time to resolve this issue once and for all.
First published in Lynn News, 12 January 2024
