'We can't let them off the hook' Post Office campaigners demand bosses punished
Campaigners tonight called for those behind the Post Office computer scandal to be punished by the courts.
Sub-postmasters’ champion Alan Bates said compensation was a priority but, on those behind the injustice, he added: “Don’t let them off the hook.” Marion Holmes, 81, whose husband died before he could be cleared, said: “Let’s just make sure we get all of them."
A “long list” of people should face justice in court for trying to cover up the Post Office scandal, a former minister has said. Labour MP Kevan Jones called for those behind Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice to be held to account.
Labour MP Kevan Jones
Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells (PA)Hero postmaster Alan Bates, one of hundreds wrongly accused of theft because of the faulty Horizon IT system, said: “We’ve waited long enough, don’t let them off the hook.”
Mr Jones was a defence minister under Gordon Brown and now sits on the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board. He said: “Getting compensation for the victims of this scandal is obviously a priority. But if you speak to them, their wish is that the people who are responsible are held to account. There’s a long list of people with questions to answer and if any of them meet the criminal threshold, then they should face justice. This isn’t a scandal caused by human error. There were deliberate attempts to cover up the truth.”
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Mr Bates’ decades-long fight for justice was the basis for hit ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office. He said: “Obviously we want to see them face justice but we know the response is to wait until the inquiry has reported. If it means we have to wait a bit longer to get things right then so be it, we have waited long enough, but just don’t let them off the hook.”
He added: “There’s every sign at the moment that the authorities are seriously looking at this, which they should, but if they don’t these people should not think they have got away with it because we will be looking at coming after them.”
The Government vowed to swiftly compensate and exonerate all the victims through a new law. Only 93 convictions have so far been overturned out of hundreds linked to Horizon, which made it look like postmasters were swindling cash.
Former Post Office workers celebrating outside the Royal Courts of Justice after their convictions were overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2021 (ITV)Marion Holmes, 81, whose late husband Peter was falsely accused over a “missing” £46,000, is determined to keep on fighting. Peter ran the Jesmond Post Office in Newcastle before he was accused in 2008. His widow said: “We have to see justice for all of them. A lot of people are calling for those responsible to be locked up. Let’s just make sure we get all of them and don’t just use some as scapegoats.”
The Met confirmed it is investigating the Post Office over “potential fraud offences”
Marion Holmes' husband Peter died before his name could be cleared (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Kevin Hollinrake, the minister responsible for the Post Office, said: “This scandal has led to bankruptcies, marriage breakdowns, family crises, repossessions, illnesses, contributed to four known suicides and a billion pounds in taxpayer-funded compensation. Do I think someone should go to jail? Yes, I do.”
Sir David Davis, a former cabinet minister, said: “What happened here is a perversion of the course of justice.”
A tax expert warned the Post Office could be facing a £100million bill after claiming a tax break for compensation payments. Dan Neidle, head of Tax Policy Associates, suggested this could be “unlawful”.
A Post Office spokesman said: “[This] was about ensuring the tax treatment of funding we receive from Government to pay compensation was treated in the same way as other Government funding that we receive.”
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