Scots whose lives were ruined by Post Office Horizon IT scandal call for further investigation in wake of hit ITV drama

Upsurge of public support for action in the wake of Mr Bates vs the Post Office

It is a prime-time drama that has shone a light on the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history and helped bolster support for its victims in their long fight for accountability.

Now, several Scots whose lives were left in ruins as a result of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal have urged members of the public to press their MPs to demand a fair compensation scheme, and called for senior executives at the firm to be investigated.

The ITV series, Mr Bates vs the Post Office, has proved to be one of 2024’s early hits among critics and viewers, with its focus on the ordinary sub-postmasters caught up in an epic legal battle that is playing out to this day.

Some 736 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting between 2000 and 2014 due to the Horizon system, which was installed and maintained by Fujitsu. Despite repeatedly protesting their innocence, many were convicted and imprisoned, or left with their finances and personal lives torn asunder. Some died before their names were cleared.

So far, only 93 convictions relating to the scandal have been quashed. The UK Government said it had paid out £27 million across the 475 claimants in the original civil case, but only 11 people have received full and final settlements. A further ten have been accepted.

Myra Philp, who was among those who had their lives turned upside down by the Post Office’s actions, said she hoped the four-part drama would expedite the fight for justice. She pointed out that since the programme began, dozens of those affected had applied for compensation.

Ms Philp worked at a post office in Auchtermuchty, with her mother, Mary, who was the sub-postmistress between 2001 and 2006. When the system began flagging shortfalls, her mother initially blamed herself, but when she reported issues with Horizon, the Post Office told her no one else was encountering problems.

ITV's drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office', has raised public awareness of one the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Picture: ITV/Shutterstock

As the shortfalls mounted up, they began putting the money back, taking out loans, and borrowing from relatives. In all, Ms Philp estimates they paid more than £70,000 to the Post Office. Mary died in 2018 at the age of 83, before the first court case was won by the sub-postmasters.

Ms Philp, who last year told a human impact hearing at a public inquiry of how the Post Office “stole our money” and “destroyed my late mother’s life”, took to social media to urge anyone who had watched Mr Bates vs The Post Office to take the time to write to their local MP to demand accountability for the injustice and adequate compensation for those impacted.

“The Post Office tried to ban me from the compensation scheme, but I appeared at the statutory inquiry and there is now no time limit on application,” she said. “This week alone 63 people have found courage and applied because of the TV show. The Post Office is still lying and trying to rob its victims all over again, so the fight goes on.”

Another Scot impacted by the scandal, Chris Dawson, ran a successful sub-post office in Pitlochry. But after he repeatedly refused to accept liability for the £17,500 shortfall identified at his branch, he was suspended for six months. It was a decision that started a downward spiral, leading to Mr Dawson being declared bankrupt and losing his home and his marriage.

Myra Philp said the Post Office IT scandal "destroyed" her late mother's life.

He said while the drama had helped to shine a light on the actions of Paula Vennells, the Post Office’s chief executive between 2012 and 2019, there were other figures that deserved scrutiny, including Adam Crozier, the Scot who was the Post Office CEO between 2003 and 2010, during which time many of the prosecutions took place.

Although Mr Dawson avoided a conviction, he said there was also a need for accountability on the part of Dame Moya Greene, who served as the chief executive of Royal Mail between 2010 and 2018. Although that company is now separate from the Post Office, her time in charge included a two-year period when both were part of the same group.

“Whilst only one was mentioned in the ITV drama, let us not forget there were three CEOs involved in this cover-up, not to mention the seven prime ministers and numerous chancellors, and ministers for the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy,” he said. “Justice for postmasters means an investigation into each and every one of them.”

Since the drama began, Mr Dawson, who also gave evidence last year at a public inquiry hearing, has taken to Facebook to share a written apology he received last year from the Post Office’s remediation unit director, Simon Recaldin, who told him: “It is not fair of me to expect your forgiveness, but I do want to help make things right.” Mr Dawson, however, said he had refused the offer of a verbal apology, given it did not come from Ms Vennells directly. “Time will tell if justice is served,” he added.

Prior to becoming a non-executive across several companies, Adam Crozier, who was born on the Isle of Bute, shot to fame as chief executive of the FA in 2000, where he was responsible for appointing the first foreign manager of the England team.

The drama has also sparked an upsurge in members of the public supporting a move to strip Ms Vennells of her CBE. A petition that condemns the “mass cover-up” by the Post Office had attracted more than 438,000 signatures, with hundreds of thousands of people adding their names in recent days.

Nick Read, the current chief executive of the Post Office, said the company had paid over £120m in compensation to date. He said: “We hope that the ITV drama will raise further awareness and encourage anyone affected who has not yet come forward to seek the redress and compensation they deserve.”