At its heart, this extraordinary saga is about a group of workers who lost their jobs and their reputations – and in some cases served prison time – because their employer wrongly accused them of theft or fraud. You can read Mark Sweney’s useful primer on the story here. But it is also about accountability for an apparent cover-up even after the Post Office realised it was in the wrong, and how the story is yet to be resolved for so many victims. Postmasters may be thrilled that the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office (starring Toby Jones, above) has brought the story back to the centre of public and political attention. But they might also question why it took a fictionalised version of their story to do so when the reality was bleak enough. In an opinion piece today, Gaby Hinsliff reflects on why the wheels of justice have turned so slowly. “The most dangerous period for campaigners can be after they’ve won the long-fought victory,” she writes. “In a world with too many newer injustices, the bureaucratic grind of actually getting what was promised is easily overlooked.” How the ITV drama has changed things In her review last week of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Rebecca Nicholson wrote: “The Post Office scandal has been so long-running that it can feel as if the staggering injustice at the heart of it all has been lost in the dense forest of the details. This makes it human again.” On the phone yesterday, solicitor Neil Hudgell – who has already helped 73 former post office operators clear their names – reflected on the “absolute bedlam and madness” of renewed attention to the story. At least 60 of those affected have died awaiting compensation. “Of course it’s regrettable if the penny hasn’t dropped for some people before now,” Hudgell said. “We’re focused on the here and now, mapping out the best possible route to closure for our clients. The drama has condensed a period of 20 years into four hours in a way that the British public’s psyche can grasp what’s gone on. So it’s a real breakthrough moment.” New victims come forward Last week, Hudgell told the BBC that about 50 new potential victims of the scandal had contacted him. By yesterday, he said, the figure stood at about 100. “Quite a lot of them say that the drama has helped them find the courage to come forward – seeing the wave of sympathy that’s been generated,” he said. Many of the new enquiries are from those who may not have been convicted but suffered devastating consequences all the same. “There are people who have lost their incomes or their homes,” he said. “It’s hard to know the overall scale of that. And one of the sad features is that quite a few of them are people looking for redress for loved ones who have since died.” There are stories of people who have faced great hardship or personal cost because of an injustice visited on a family member – but there is no provision for compensation for family members in the existing schemes. Hudgell said that there was considerable support for a change to include families. “There are suicides of spouses, miscarriages, admissions to psychiatric care. One guy I spoke to previously said, ‘I went to prison, I got it easy – I could hide in my cell, but my wife had to face the wrath of the community.’ Each of these stories on its own is a tragedy.” Changes to the process On Sunday, Rishi Sunak said that he was considering a proposal to exonerate the sub-postmasters en masse by act of parliament. “I think that that’s a big step that needs proper consideration,” said Hudgell. “The more pragmatic and realistic step is to take the appeal process out of the hands of the Post Office, and hand it to the Crown Prosecution Service.” The Post Office’s role in the appeals process derives from the fact that it had the power to bring prosecutions itself: “While they’re using independent counsel and there has been an enhanced level of scrutiny of the process, if these prosecutions had been brought today, it would have been the CPS handling them. They [the CPS] have the independence to do this.” The government is also understood to be considering blocking the Post Office from challenging appeals, allowing operators to appeal en masse. And minister Kevin Hollinrake said yesterday that the Post Office’s role in private prosecutions will now be under review. Accountability at the Post Office |