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Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal have renewed calls for justice as a public inquiry heads to Edinburgh.
The UK-wide probe into one of the UK’s biggest ever miscarriages of justice is holding a session in the city on Wednesday, October 8, in order to understand the wider impact on Scottish families and communities.
It comes just days after another crunch meeting was held in Glasgow to decide how relatives of affected postmasters should be compensated – a key recommendation of the long-running inquiry.
False accusations were made against at least 1,000 postmasters as a result of the faulty Fujitsu accounting system between 2000 and 2014, reports The Daily Record.
Former Perthshire postmaster Chris Dawson, who went bankrupt, lost his house, his 14-year marriage and his reputation when he was pursued by the Post Office for missing cash, said the scandal was much more far reaching than those who were directly blamed over missing cash.
The 51-year-old said: “I hope that this helps to bring forward the people who haven’t yet spoken out.
“I know personally of four people that Horizon affected that haven’t come forward because they just don’t trust the system – the Government or the Post Office. I completely get it.
“It wasn’t just relatives this affected. There’s staff, staff’s families. These people should be able to step forward. They lost their jobs as well when post offices closed, through no fault of their own. They are the silent victims.
“I know through my own experience that even though I trusted my staff implicitly, there was always that niggling doubt ‘has somebody done this to me?’ They suffered too.”
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A bombshell first report from the inquiry in July made 19 recommendations, while laying bare the “disastrous” toll on victims, linking it to at least 13 suicides.
A further 59 victims told the inquiry they considered suicide, with ten attempting to take their own lives on at least one occasion.
Meanwhile, families were “wrecked” by divorce, bankruptcy, alcoholism and mental health disorders, the report said.
Amongst his key recommendations, Sir Wyn Williams said close family members of people affected by the Horizon scandal should receive compensation.
One of several UK-wide restorative justice meetings took place in Glasgow last week to ask victims how the process should take shape.
Chris, who ran the Pitlochry branch from 2007-2010 but was suspended and an investigation opened when a shortfall of £17,500 was found, was at the meeting.
He avoided conviction but joined the battle for redress and received an apology from Post Office CEO Nick Read.
Chris, a member of the newly-formed Scottish Postmasters for Justice & Redress (SPJR), said: “This is well overdue. The wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, children of postmasters and mistresses shouldn’t have to jump through hoops for this.”
Today’s session in Edinburgh is hosted by the Inquiry’s listening project In Your Own Words, with confidential support services available for those who choose to share their experiences.
Marion Fellows, former MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, who led the fight for hundreds of wrongly-convicted sub-postmasters long before TV drama Mr Bates V The Post Office sparked public outrage, will be at the event.
She said: “It’s really important that we hear these stories. Because of the TV drama, people are under the impression that this has all been sorted but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There is still a huge mount to do for all of those affected by the Horizon scandal.”
Teema Nicholls, Head of Engagement at the Inquiry, added: “We are looking forward to hearing from those affected by this scandal in Scotland.
“We know there are many experiences from Scottish communities that haven’t yet been shared with us, and this session provides an important opportunity for people to tell us their stories. These insights will help us better understand how the Horizon scandal has impacted affected individuals and communities in Scotland.”
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