Devastating true story behind ITV's Mr Bates vs the Post Office
ITV's latest four-part mini-series has viewers gripped after it was aired for the first time on New Years Day.
Mr Bates vs the Post Office tells the true story of the British Post Office scandal, which saw numerous postmasters wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 for theft, false accounting, and/or fraud. ITV's show follows the story of Alan Bates, who along with his partner Suzanne Sercombe in 1998, used life savings to buy a Post Office branch in Llandudno, North Wales.
Alan, played by Detectorists and Wayward Pines star Toby Jones, previously opened up on the injustice to the Mirror. "We planned for a few years of hard work setting up, then relaxing a bit with time to explore interests. For me, it was hiking in nearby Snowdonia, while Suzanne could paint. But then it all turned into a bit of a battleground."
Mr Bates and The Post Office hits screens on New Years Day (ITV)Back in 2000, the Post Office introduced the Horizon IT system, which soon led to sub-postmasters reporting unexplained discrepancies and losses. Despite the complaints, use of the system expanded rapidly across the country and by 2013, it was used by at least 11,500 branches, processing some six million transactions every day.
Alan continued: "We were told to call the helpline, which became known as the hell line as it was so useless." He soon discovered the issues lay with the computer, not his staff, meanwhile. "Teething problems started becoming a frequent occurrence. I realised many shortcomings, in particular with accessing data I had inputted. I couldn’t check the work I’d done. It was very restrictive."
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It became a problem when any discrepancies were noted. "They tried to make my old contract stand for the new computerised accounting which said I was liable for any losses and shortfalls," Alan added. When he refused to accept liability, however, like many other postmasters and postmistresses, the Post Office terminated their contract with three months’ notice.
Coronation Street's Julie Hesmondhalgh plays Alan's partner, Suzanne Sercombe (ITV)
Alan Bates fought for postmasters wrongly prosecuted for a number of offences (ITV)He and Suzanne (played by Julie Hesmondhalgh - Coronation Street's Hayley Cropper) lost the £65,000 they had invested. In those last weeks, Suzanne made a banner publicising a website Alan had set up for Post Office whistleblowers. For years he got nowhere. Alan explained: "I occasionally heard from the odd person, but people seemed too scared to do more."
But slowly others came forward and in 2009, more than 30 people met up to share their experiences. Alan said: "There were a whole host of very, very sad stories. The Post Office made people think they were going crazy. They didn’t just inflict financial ruin, destroying livelihoods, it also destroyed families."
"But there was one positive," Alan added. "We were all together and we knew the truth. There was also a determination that we were going to expose the lies." Alan and five others eventually took the Post Office to the High Court in a Group Litigation Order covering 555 claimants. Judge Mr Justice Fraser ruled computer errors were to blame.
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Then, in December 2019, the Post Office agreed to pay £58million compensation for false prosecutions based on faulty evidence from the Horizon system. Judge Fraser described the Post Office denials about Horizon issues as "institutional obstinacy". However, the group were only left with £12m – about £20,000 each – after legal costs.
Alan rued: "We were told we wouldn’t get any more so we had to fight for the Government to set up a proper financial redress scheme." In March 2022, however, a government U-turn resulted in a compensation scheme being established. But Alan added: "My understanding is that only a handful in the scheme has received their full and final financial redress. This has been a total cover-up; there has been no end to the lies. I just hope that the real guilty are actually pursued and prosecuted. I hope that is what Sir Wyn recommends."
Ms Vennells, an ordained minister, issued an apology after the High Court ruling. Her lawyers said earlier this month: "Our client is participating in the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry (which remains ongoing)."
Episode one of Mr Bates vs the Post Office will air on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Monday January 1, 2024.
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