Feumar freagairtean cheart fhaighinn carson a thachair scainneal nan Oifis Phuist

Tha mi fhathast gun am prògram “Mr Bates v the Post Office” fhaicinn, ach gu cinnteach tha mi dol a dhèanamh sin nuair a cheadaicheas an tìde.

Anne Quarm: “Chaill sinn a h-uile càil a bh' againn.” (Dealbh: BBC)

[English-language version below]

Chan eil mòran rudan air telebhisean aig an robh an uimhir de bhuaidh agus e air an luchd-poileataigs agus na h-ùghdarrasan a dhùsgadh às an t-suain-chadal airson dèiligeadh leis a’ chùis mar bu chòir.

Leis na tha air a bhith air a ràdh agus air a sgrìobhadh mu dheidhinn, saoilidh mi gu bheil mi eòlach gu leòr air an sgeulachd, ach an dèidh sin, tha fhios nuair a thig an t-àm a choimhead nach bi m’ fhearg càil nas socaire ri linn sin.

‘S e fìor actair a tha ann an Toby Jones, a tha a’ cluiche a’ phrìomh phàirt. Tha doimhneachd is sgil is tuigse aige, fiù ‘s anns na pàirtean èibhinn a bhios e a’ cluiche. Tha mi a’ coimhead air adhart ri fhaicinn, mas e sin am briathrachas ceart.

Tha e a’ sealltainn cho cumhachdach ‘s a dh’fhaodas telebhisean a bhith, a’ toirt buaidh air poileasaidh poblach le bhith cur na prosbaig air ana-ceartas airson an duine bhig. Chan eil càil a ghluaiseas an luchd-poiileataigs na fearg mòr nan daoine.

Agus gu cinnteach, bha sgeulachdan gu leòr ann – na ceudan mhòr air feadh Bhreatainn. Sin tòrr dhaoine a dh’fhuilig ri linn an cliù a bhith air a mhilleadh le buidheann nach b’ urrainn gabhail ris gun robh an coimpiutair aca ceàrr agus a bha a’ creids' gun robh a h-uile duine a bha sin ri foill.

Bithear an dòchas gum faigh an rannsachadh poblach a tha a’ dol air adhart an dràsta freagairt air carson a bha iad ris an dol a-mach a tha seo, bhon cha ghabh idir a thuigs'.

Ged a tha am prògram air ITV air cuideachadh an cuspair a chur fa chomhair an t-sluaigh, tha fhios gu bheil a’ chùis nas tiamhaidh buileach nuair a tha thu faisg air a’ ghnothach.

Ann an agallamh leis a’ BhBC, dh’innis Anne Quarm, banntrach fear dhe na daoine a bhathas a’ cur as a leth gun robh e ri foill, dìreach cho duilich ’s a bha e dhaibh.

Bha Uilleam Quarm a' ruith Oifis a' Phuist ann am Paibil an Uibhist a Tuath. Bhàsaich e ann an 2012, a shlàinte air briseadh ‘s trom an eallach air às dèidh na thachair. Chaidh cur às den dìteadh aige an-uiridh, 11 bliadhna as dèidh dha caochail.

Cha do choinnich mi fhèin ri Bill a-riamh, ach ‘s aithne dhomh gu leòr a bha eòlach air agus cha robh duine aca dhen bheachd gun robh e idir ris na bhathas a’ cur às a leth. Ach, an dèidh sin, bha a’ bhuaidh domhainn.

"Bha a h-uile earbsa agam ann am Bill,” thuirt Anne anns an agallamh a gheibhear fhathast air eadar-lìon a’ BhBC. "B' e duine onorach a bh' ann, duine ceart.

"Bha e ag obair gu cruaidh. Bha e dìreach uabhasach ga fhaicinn anns an t-suidheachadh san robh e.

"Bhris a shlàinte, agus bha mise fortanach nach do bhris e mo shlàinte-sa. Ach bha mi dìreach a' cumail a' dol air sàilleibh an teaghlaich.

"Chaill sinn a h-uile càil a bh' againn. Ar dachaigh, 's na gnothachasan. Tha e doirbh a chur ann am faclan dè tha mi dha rìribh a' ciallachadh, ach dìreach nach robh sìon againn mu dheireadh.”

Tha i fhathast gun sgillinn ruadh fhaighinn air ais.

English-language version:

I feel as if I must be one of the few people left in the UK who has not actually seen Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the ITV drama which has finally forced the politicians and authorities to act with the urgency and pathos that the issue demanded, but which was ignored for so long by far too many.

Given the recent media exposure, I feel as if I’m acquainted well enough with the script as is, although I doubt this will mean that, whenever I finally get round to sitting down and making my way through its painful four episodes, it will mean my sense of anger, like all those who have already watched the programme, is any less acute.

Toby Jones, who plays the main part of Alan Bates, is a fine British actor, full of subtlety and sympathy, even in the comedy roles he plays. So, I’m looking forward to it, if that’s not too inappropriate a phrase. It’s television and dramatists working at their finest, able to influence public policy by highlighting human injustice. Nothing sharpens the senses of politicians quite like a mass outpouring of anger.

And there were certainly plenty of stories to choose from – literally hundreds throughout the UK. That’s a lot of people, many of whom would have previously been upstanding members of their community, who had their reputation tarnished by an organisation which, maddeningly, could not accept the failings of technology and believed them all to be fraudsters. Hopefully the inquiry will be able to shed light on quite why they acted like tyrants. As an aside, as we rush headlong to embrace the world of artificial intelligence, there is a salutary lesson to be learned here.

While the ITV adaptation of the story of Mr Bates, the founder of the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance, helped expose the matter to the masses, for long years individuals and families suffered in silence, their lives ruined, their savings blown in paying back money they were never guilty of taking in the first place, fighting legal cases that never should have seen the light of day.

And when it happens to someone close to you, it must be all the more infuriating. In a BBC interview this week, Anne Quarm, whose husband was one of those accused and one of only four in Scotland to have had their convictions quashed so far, spoke movingly of the cost – not just financial, but more so, the human cost.

Bill Quarm ran the post office in Bayhead, North Uist, before being accused of stealing thousands of pounds. I did not know him personally but I know plenty who did and no one that I know believed him guilty. He died in 2012, his spirit broken by the weight of the accusations. His story is one of those the UK inquiry will focus on.

“It was just awful to see him how he was,” said Anne in the BBC interview, which is still available on BBC iPlayer and well worth a watch. “It broke his health, it nearly broke mine. We lost everything.”

She is still to receive a penny in compensation.