10 January 2024 , 21:04
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Post Office staff wrongly convicted over the IT scandal have been told they will finally be exonerated, but the man who led the campaign to clear their names has warned the compensation on offer does not go far enough.
Daily Mirror Pride of Britain winner and campaign hero Alan Bates spoke out after Rishi Sunak confirmed a new law for an unprecedented blank acquittal for those whose lives were turned upside down in the scandal, leaving them with criminal records, psychological trauma and in many cases bankrupt or even in jail. There were also suicides and several people died before the truth came out.
There are three compensation schemes in operation. Those sub-postmasters who have a conviction overturned will be offered £600,000 and can be assessed if they feel they are owed more.
Those like Alan, who were part of a 555-strong group litigation order case, will be offered £75,000 and can also go through an assessment process for more.
The move came after the shocking ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office last week. The resulting public outrage from viewers put ministers under pressure to address the miscarriage of justice suffered by hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses.
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Alan, who is portrayed in the series by Toby Jones, said: “The overturning of convictions is very good news but the priority remains full financial redress to everyone impacted. £75,000 is an alternative to having your case independently assessed, so for the smaller cases, it will probably suffice, But for many cases, it is not enough.
“If someone’s lost their home, business, earning potential, cashed in their pensions, there’s been vast costs over the years. We’re talking over 15, 20 years. It is certainly going to be more than £75,000. How you can put a price of the PTSD many are suffering. The Government still haven’t addressed the issues of mental health support and treatment needed for not just the victims but the families, too.”
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Alan, 69 from Colwyn Bay, North Wales, believes the public outrage should pull the shutters coming down on the Post Office as a once great British institution. He said: “I feel the Post Office has had its day as it stands, it will never recover from this. It really needs to be sold off to someone like Amazon for a pound and let them modernise, streamline it and bring it up to date. And give the sub-postmasters new contracts
“It’s obviously a money pit for the taxpayer. They are ploughing millions of pounds into it. It needs a major overhaul because it doesn’t work. And there’s no way you’ll ever fix it. It’s finished as a major British institution.”
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Pride of Britain winner Alan has been fighting for justice (Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)After Alan, as one of six claimants, took the Post Office to the High Court in a Group Litigation Order, Judge Mr Justice Fraser ruled that computer errors were to blame and the company agreed to settle with all 555 claimants.
In December 2019, the Post Office agreed to paid out £58million to sub-postmasters who were awarded compensation for past false prosecutions of theft that had been based on faulty evidence from the Horizon system. Judge Fraser described the Post Office denials about the IT issues as “institutional obstinacy”. However, the group were only left with £12m – about £20,000 each – after legal costs.
Alan added: “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, in a government U-turn, a compensation scheme was set up.
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Alan said: “People need to take legal advice before accepting any of these lump sums being offered by the Government.”
He revealed that he and others who made up the original GLO group of claimants still hadn’t been paid in full yet. Alan said: “There are only around 25 individuals who have received full and final compensation. There has been some interim payments to others but they have been waiting for far too long.
“There have been a number of schemes, one in 2012 and one in 2015, that fell apart. We went to the courts and we got a small amount, but the bulk of the money went to cover all the legal costs involved. We battled again for a few more years until the U-turn of a new scheme in March 2022. There have been endless hurdles.”
Alan told how the drama had helped those affected get over what he hoped would be “the last hurdle”.
He said: “It remains frustrating. There is now light at the end of the tunnel, but we have to get there quickly. Many people will be watching what the Government do now, and MPs will want to stay on top of this as well to get it sorted. The devil is the detail and we’re yet to see that. We’re still going to have to keep pushing the whole issue forward until everyone is sorted. But at least after all this time, there is a willingness now.”
Rishi Sunak announced compensation for victims (PA)The ordeals of the trauma suffered by the sub-postmasters in the ITV drama from the Horizon IT system were heart-wrenching and sparked fury. One Lee Castleton, played by Will Mellor, was left with a £346,000 bill, and declared bankrupt after being blamed for a shortfall of £25,000 plus £321,000 legal costs.
His children were bullied and his family’s health suffered. Jo Hamilton, played by Monica Dolan, pleaded guilty to avoid jail, was eventually fired and charged with the theft of £36,000.
She re-mortgaged her house twice but was forced to sell her shop in South Warnborough, Hampshire, and work as a cleaner, which she still does now. So far, only 95 people have had their convictions quashed.
Mr Sunak described it as “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history” and said people who worked hard for their communities had their “lives and reputations destroyed through absolutely no fault of their own”.
The PM told MPs: “We will make sure that the truth comes to light, we right the wrongs of the past and the victims get the justice they deserve.”
Postal affairs Minister Kevin Hollinrake admitted that it was a mistake to award a CBE to former Post Office chief Paula Vennells in 2019, years after postmasters started campaigning against injustice that took place on her watch.
Ms Vennells revealed she would hand back the gong after more than 1.2 million people signed a petition calling for her to be stripped of the honour. Mr Hollinrake said: “We didn’t know then what we know now but nevertheless I do think that was a mistake looking back.”
The Tory Minister suggested she could be forced to hand back £2.2million in bonuses she received as Chief Executive Officer of the Post Office between 2012 and 2019.
Sign our petition HERE to give Post Office hero Alan Bates an honour