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Business Recorder
09-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
UK post office scandal may have caused 13 suicides: inquiry
LONDON: Thirteen people caught up in a faulty accounting software scandal at British Post Office branches may have killed themselves and 59 more contemplated doing so, a public inquiry report published Tuesday said. The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted around 1,000 subpostmasters — self-employed branch managers — between 1999 and 2015. Errors in tech giant Fujitsu's Legacy Horizon accounting software incorrectly made it appear that money was missing from their accounts. Many ended up bankrupt after being forced by the Post Office to pay back the missing funds. Some were jailed. Dozens who were later exonerated died without ever seeing their names cleared. Inquiry chair Wyn Williams said that there was a 'real possibility' that 13 people killed themselves as a result of their ordeal. Ten people attempted to take their own lives and 59 contemplated it, the report into the scandal found. Many of the prosecutions took place after questions were raised about the software's reliability. Police are investigating possible fraud committed during the scandal. 'I am satisfied from the evidence that I have heard that a number of senior, and not-so-senior employees of the Post Office knew or, at the very least should have known, that Legacy Horizon was capable of error,' Williams said in the report. 'Yet... the Post Office maintained the fiction that its data was always accurate,' he added. A 'number of senior' people at the Post Office were aware the system was capable of error before it was changed in 2010, he said. Welcoming the findings, former branch manager Jo Hamilton said the report showed 'the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us'. Williams described the picture of the scandal that had emerged as 'profoundly disturbing'. 'Many thousands of people have suffered serious financial detriment. Many people have inevitably suffered emotional turmoil and significant stress. 'Many businesses and homes have been lost. Bankruptcies have occurred, marriage and families have been wrecked,' he said. Among those who gave evidence to the inquiry was former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells who was quizzed about what she knew and when. Vennells broke down in tears when recalling the case of one man who took his own life after being wrongly accused over a £39,000 ($49,537) shortfall at his branch. The long-running saga hit the headlines after the broadcast in January 2024 of a television drama about the managers' ordeal, which generated a wave of sympathy and outrage. Fujitsu's European director Paul Patterson told a parliamentary committee later that the firm, which assisted the Post Office in prosecutions using flawed data from the software, was 'truly sorry' for 'this appalling miscarriage of justice'. Many of those involved are still battling for compensation. The government's Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said last month that 7,569 claims out of the 11,208 received had now been paid, leaving 3,709 still to be settled. Alan Bates, a former branch manager who led the fight for justice, has said the compensation process has 'turned into quasi-kangaroo courts'. Bates, who was awarded a knighthood by King Charles III for his campaign to highlight the scandal, told the Sunday Times newspaper in May the DBT 'sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses'. Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said last month the government had made it a priority to speed up the delivery of compensation since taking office in July 2024.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK post office scandal may have caused 13 suicides: inquiry
Thirteen people caught up in a faulty accounting software scandal at British Post Office branches may have killed themselves and 59 more contemplated doing so, a public inquiry report published Tuesday said. The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted around 1,000 subpostmasters -- self-employed branch managers -- between 1999 and 2015. Errors in tech giant Fujitsu's Legacy Horizon accounting software incorrectly made it appear that money was missing from their accounts. Many ended up bankrupt after being forced by the Post Office to pay back the missing funds. Some were jailed. Dozens who were later exonerated died without ever seeing their names cleared. Inquiry chair Wyn Williams said that there was a "real possibility" that 13 people killed themselves as a result of their ordeal. Ten people attempted to take their own lives and 59 contemplated it, the report into the scandal found. Many of the prosecutions took place after questions were raised about the software's reliability. Police are investigating possible fraud committed during the scandal. "I am satisfied from the evidence that I have heard that a number of senior, and not-so-senior employees of the Post Office knew or, at the very least should have known, that Legacy Horizon was capable of error," Williams said in the report. "Yet... the Post Office maintained the fiction that its data was always accurate," he added. A "number of senior" people at the Post Office were aware the system was capable of error before it was changed in 2010, he said. - Miscarriage of justice - Welcoming the findings, former branch manager Jo Hamilton said the report showed "the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us". Williams described the picture of the scandal that had emerged as "profoundly disturbing". "Many thousands of people have suffered serious financial detriment. Many people have inevitably suffered emotional turmoil and significant stress. "Many businesses and homes have been lost. Bankruptcies have occurred, marriage and families have been wrecked," he said. Among those who gave evidence to the inquiry was former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells who was quizzed about what she knew and when. Vennells broke down in tears when recalling the case of one man who took his own life after being wrongly accused over a £39,000 ($49,537) shortfall at his branch. The long-running saga hit the headlines after the broadcast in January 2024 of a television drama about the managers' ordeal, which generated a wave of sympathy and outrage. Fujitsu's European director Paul Patterson told a parliamentary committee later that the firm, which assisted the Post Office in prosecutions using flawed data from the software, was "truly sorry" for "this appalling miscarriage of justice". Many of those involved are still battling for compensation. The government's Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said last month that 7,569 claims out of the 11,208 received had now been paid, leaving 3,709 still to be settled. Alan Bates, a former branch manager who led the fight for justice, has said the compensation process has "turned into quasi-kangaroo courts". Bates, who was awarded a knighthood by King Charles III for his campaign to highlight the scandal, told the Sunday Times newspaper in May the DBT "sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses". Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said last month the government had made it a priority to speed up the delivery of compensation since taking office in July 2024. har/jj/fg
Int'l Business Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
UK Post Office Scandal May Have Caused 13 Suicides: Inquiry
Thirteen people caught up in a faulty accounting software scandal at British Post Office branches may have killed themselves and 59 more contemplated doing so, a public inquiry report published Tuesday said. The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted around 1,000 subpostmasters -- self-employed branch managers -- between 1999 and 2015. Errors in tech giant Fujitsu's Legacy Horizon accounting software incorrectly made it appear that money was missing from their accounts. Many ended up bankrupt after being forced by the Post Office to pay back the missing funds. Some were jailed. Dozens who were later exonerated died without ever seeing their names cleared. Inquiry chair Wyn Williams said that there was a "real possibility" that 13 people killed themselves as a result of their ordeal. Ten people attempted to take their own lives and 59 contemplated it, the report into the scandal found. Many of the prosecutions took place after questions were raised about the software's reliability. Police are investigating possible fraud committed during the scandal. "I am satisfied from the evidence that I have heard that a number of senior, and not-so-senior employees of the Post Office knew or, at the very least should have known, that Legacy Horizon was capable of error," Williams said in the report. "Yet... the Post Office maintained the fiction that its data was always accurate," he added. A "number of senior" people at the Post Office were aware the system was capable of error before it was changed in 2010, he said. Welcoming the findings, former branch manager Jo Hamilton said the report showed "the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us". Williams described the picture of the scandal that had emerged as "profoundly disturbing". "Many thousands of people have suffered serious financial detriment. Many people have inevitably suffered emotional turmoil and significant stress. "Many businesses and homes have been lost. Bankruptcies have occurred, marriage and families have been wrecked," he said. Among those who gave evidence to the inquiry was former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells who was quizzed about what she knew and when. Vennells broke down in tears when recalling the case of one man who took his own life after being wrongly accused over a GBP39,000 ($49,537) shortfall at his branch. The long-running saga hit the headlines after the broadcast in January 2024 of a television drama about the managers' ordeal, which generated a wave of sympathy and outrage. Fujitsu's European director Paul Patterson told a parliamentary committee later that the firm, which assisted the Post Office in prosecutions using flawed data from the software, was "truly sorry" for "this appalling miscarriage of justice". Many of those involved are still battling for compensation. The government's Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said last month that 7,569 claims out of the 11,208 received had now been paid, leaving 3,709 still to be settled. Alan Bates, a former branch manager who led the fight for justice, has said the compensation process has "turned into quasi-kangaroo courts". Bates, who was awarded a knighthood by King Charles III for his campaign to highlight the scandal, told the Sunday Times newspaper in May the DBT "sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses". Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said last month the government had made it a priority to speed up the delivery of compensation since taking office in July 2024.
ITV News
08-07-2025
- Business
- ITV News
'Will there be accountability?': Victims of the Post Office scandal question if they'll get justice
Former sub-postmasters have told ITV News Central how they've experienced death, marital breakdowns, as well as emotional and financial despair as a result of the Horizon scandal. Francis Maye, Tracy McFadden, Shane Johnson and Sally Stringer have all shared their stories on what happened to them after using the Horizon system as sub-postmasters. It comes as the first volume of the final report for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry had high expectations to deliver the appropriate findings for former sub-postmasters, whose lives were destroyed by the British Post Office scandal. Chairman Sir Wyn Williams said 'a number of senior' people at the organisation were aware the system, known as Legacy Horizon, was capable of error up until it was changed in 2010, with a number of employees also aware the updated system, Horizon Online, also had bugs and defects. At least 59 people who experienced problems with the Post Office's Horizon IT system contemplated suicide, the first tranche of a public inquiry's final report has concluded. Lead campaigner and former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton has said the Post Office Inquiry final report 'shows the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us'. The widely-anticipated report has been most eagerly awaited by the former sub-postmasters, who had been wrongly prosecuted or faced financial turmoil due to the flawed Horizon IT system. Today the Post Office has apologised unreservedly for the suffering which Post Office caused to postmasters saying their experiences represent a "shameful period in our history". Here at ITV News Central we have been speaking to people in our region who have been affected and they told us the impact it's had on their lives. FRANCIS MAYE Francis Maye bought a Post Office branch at Bidford Upon Avon in Warwickshire in March 2011. He ran it with his wife Veronica. He had bought the Post Office for £77,000 as part of his retirement plan, but within weeks those plans began to unravel when shortfalls suddenly started appearing in their accounts. Francis said: "It started off with small amounts. And I started to think this might be human error because it was only my wife and I. "And then it started to get bigger and bigger. Then when it went into the hundreds of pounds I thought there's something wrong here." Francis was convinced the problem lay with Horizon - the Post Office's new computer system. But he wasn't listened to. The couple took out loans, extended their overdraft, maxed out their credit cards and borrowed money from family. In 2010 Francis was told by his local area manager he was being suspended. They had to hand over the keys to their branch. Furthermore, false rumours had spread in the village that Francis had been arrested for theft and fraud. In 2012 Francis was declared bankrupt. The couple lost their home and were forced to sell their business. The strain also took a toll on the couple's physical and mental health. Francis was diagnosed with diabetes, later developed prostate cancer and now struggles with anxiety. His wife Veronica developed angina and in 2023 died after three weeks in a coma. TRACY McFADDEN Tracy McFadden ran a post office at Sandiacre in Derbyshire for 14 years, but her dream plan for retirement horribly unravelled when Horizon was installed. In a scene recreated in the ITV Drama Mr Bates versus the Post Office, in one instance Tracy rang the Horizon helpline for guidance over a discrepancy of £1,000, only to see the disputed sum double to £2,000, then £4,000, then finally £16,000. To plug the financial shortfalls Tracy had to borrow money from family, and take out loans and credit cards. At one point opening her front door to find debt collectors outside. When her contract was terminated by the Post Office in 2014, it wasn't just the money she lost, but also her good name. She said: "I've been stabbed in the back terribly and it's about time that knife came out. "I want to turn round and face those people. And I'm more than happy to do that. And that's what I want ... and I need." SHANE JOHNSON Shane Johnson took over the Kirkby-in-Ashfield Post Office branch in 2003, he had big plans. For four years all went well until the Post Office insisted he take over the contract to run a new cashpoint at the branch. The machine was linked to the now discredited Horizon IT system and it wasn't long before the problems began. He told ITV News Central: "Within weeks we suffered a catastrophic loss. Things had been linked to the main computer which had never been linked to our computers before. "So to us that was the fault. But the Post Office didn't accept that as being the fault. They said: "No. You've stolen the money." To cover the constant losses, Shane ran up a huge overdraft, and had to plunder his savings. At the time he was a single father-of-two and the strain soon took its toll on family life. Something to this day that brings up feelings of guilt and remorse. Having sold the business at a loss, and adding up loss of future earnings, Shane estimates he's out of pocket by around £665,000. He's since reached a settlement with the Post Office, but has little faith that those who caused him and his family so much pain, will ever truly be held accountable. Shane's pessimistic when it comes to the inquiry finding justice: "Will it ever be put right? I personally don't think so. Will there ever be any accountability? I don't think so. "Will compensation ever be fair and reasonable? I don't think so." SALLY STRINGER Having owned several successful businesses Sally & Geoffrey Stringer thought running a Post Office would be a sound financial move. So when the small village branch at Beckford on the Worcestershire-Gloucestershire border became available it seemed a perfect fit. Sally said: "It would be hundreds of pounds. It could be thousands of pounds. We balanced at the end of the first month and the stock was down by double what it should be. "So we'd got an automatic deficit of about £4,500 which is the value of the stock to start with .. What?! .. So we knew that was a problem. There was an issue." Eventually - worn down by stress, burdened with debt and fearful of criminal prosecution, the couple sold the shop. The toll on their physical and mental wellbeing though continues to this day. She said: "I still cannot and will not forgive Post Office Ltd until justice is done. "I would like them to financially pay back every bonus, redundancy payment they're received so they know actually what it's like to have financial hardship." A statement from The Post Office said: 'The Inquiry has brought to life the devastating stories of those impacted by the Horizon Scandal. Their experiences represent a shameful period in our history. "Today, we apologise unreservedly for the suffering which Post Office caused to postmasters and their loved ones. We will carefully consider the report and its recommendations.'
Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Bafta winner ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office' led to real change – here are six more TV shows that did the same
Far more than entertainment, some television programmes can prompt a shift in societal attitudes, and even changes to the law The most popular winner at the weekend's Bafta television awards was, without doubt, ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which won for Best Limited Drama. The four-parter powerfully dramatised the British Post Office scandal, a miscarriage of justice in which hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted, privately and publicly, for theft, false accounting or fraud due to a faulty computer system called Horizon.
