03 January 2024 , 19:45
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The shocking Post Office scandal took a devastating toll on the lives of ordinary Brits who were just fulfilling their normal job roles - but ended up convicted of crimes they never committed.
Back in 1999, the Post Office rolled out a new computer accounting system called Horizon which aimed to improve efficiency. However, software errors led to false financial discrepancies and the organisation wrongly blamed its staff for the missing money.
More than 700 innocent postal workers were accused of theft, fraud and false accounting, including village post office shop owner Alan Bates, who lost £65,000. Their lives were irreparably damaged by the faulty technology, with sub-postmasters across the nation sacked, thrown in prison, and hit with immense mental distress.
Four people tragically died by suicide and others spiralled into a deep depression. As the scandal has been turned into a gripping ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, The Mirror takes a look at the cruel human cost of the UK's worst-ever miscarriage of justice.
Campaign leader and real-life hero Alan Bates was hugely impacted by the fall-out (Phil Harris)
Toby Jones and Julie Hesmondhalgh portray Alan and his wife Suzanne in the gripping seriesSuicide and self-harm
While the financial impact of the scandal - more than £1billion of taxpayers' money - is infuriating, the human cost is even more tragic. The fallout affected families across the UK, and four reportedly died by suicide, and 33 more are no longer with us, meaning they will never see justice.
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One former Post Office worker took his own life after he was wrongly accused of stealing £60,000. Martin Griffiths died by suicide in 2013 at the age of 59. Mr Griffiths had worked at the Post Office for 20 years when he was wrongly accused of stealing money from the branch in Ellesmere Port.
The branch's accounting system wrongly displayed a shortfall of £61,000. Mr Griffiths delved into his own savings to make up for the deficit. His sister, Jayne Caveen, said a "bloody faulty computer system killed my brother".
Former Post Office worker Martin Griffiths tragically took his own life after he was accused of stealing £60,000 (Liverpool Echo)Heartbreakingly, Mr Griffiths' story wasn't the only tragic case. Devon postmaster Peter Huxham, 63, died alone in a suspected suicide after he was jailed for eight months following a £16,000 shortfall. His family said the ordeal led to the break down of his 22-year marriage and drove him to alcoholism.
Recording an open conclusion, assistant coroner Stephen Covell said: "It is unfortunately rather an unsatisfactory state of affairs that I cannot give any helpful conclusions as to the precise circumstances of Peter's death. He lived alone and died some weeks previously, and as a result, his body was badly decomposed and it was not possible to give a cause of death. There were no suspicious circumstances."
Midlands-based sub-postmistress Saman 'Sam' Kaur experienced agonising problems with her mental health after being accused of stealing by her employer. Her case dragged on for three years, during which time she became depressed. In ITV drama Mr Banes vs The Post Office, she was shown inflicting self harm in a bid to end her life. According to the show, she had to undergo electric shock therapy in hospital when other treatments failed to work. Sam was eventually cleared of all wrongdoing and joined the campaign for justice alongside her supportive husband, Jasgun Singh.
Peter Huxham was driven to alcoholism and his 22-year marriage broke down before he died alone in a suspected suicide (Exrpess and Echo)Partners left widowed
Mum-of-two Fiona McGowan reportedly spiralled into a deep depression after she and her partner, Phil Cowan, were accused of stealing £30,000 from her Edinburgh post office. She died from an accidental overdose of anti-depressants and alcohol in 2009, aged 47, while waiting to appear in court. Phil Cowan, who now lives in Thailand, told The Sunday Post: "Fiona may well be still alive today if she had not been facing court for false accusations of theft and died before clearing her name."
The late Julian Wilson, who ran a post office in Astwood Bank, Worcestershire, was suspended from his position in 2008 after auditors found more than £27,000 missing from branch accounts. His widow Karen, who has vowed to continue fighting on his behalf, believes the stress of the situation contributed to his death from bowel cancer in 2020. Karen told The Guardian: "He was only 67. I never said that this did kill him but it did massively contribute, definitely."
In 2020, the Post Office paid out a £57.75m settlement after more than 550 claimants brought group legal action over the Horizon system, which was found to contain software flaws that caused financial shortfalls in the sub-postmasters' branch accounts over a number of years. An investigation later revealed Post Office managers knew IT problems could be to blame for missing money but still prosecuted staff.
A Post Office spokesman said: "We have taken determined action to address past events and we are working to reform the Post Office, to forge an open and transparent relationship with the thousands of current postmasters providing customers with vital services in the UK's communities. We agreed a comprehensive resolution last year with claimants in group civil litigation, following successful independent mediation. We sincerely apologise to those affected."
- Mr Bates Vs The Post Office continues tonight at 9pm on ITV and is available to stream on ITVX now