Horizon scandal drove 13 postmasters to take their own lives - as damning inquiry ‘shows full scale of horror’
Thirteen people were found to have taken their own lives after the Post Office scandal, a report has found.
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Six former sub-postmasters and seven others, who were not sub-postmasters, were found to have died by suicide as a result of the Post Office scandal.
Wyn Williams, the inquiry's chair, said he "received evidence from at least 59 persons who contemplated suicide at various points in time and who attributed this to their experiences with Horizon and/or the Post Office".
Father-of-two Martin Griffiths, aged 59, took his own life in 2013, after being falsely suspected of financial wrongdoing at the Ellesmere Port post office branch.
The Post Office and Fujitsu "knew, or at the very least should have known", the Horizon IT system used in branches had faults, the report found.
Approximately 1,000 subpostmasters were wrongfully prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts.
Campaigner and former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton said the inquiry's report "shows the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us".
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Only 50-60 of them were not convicted, as thousands were suspended or had their contract terminated.
The report said it is "impossible to ascertain" how many people suffered as many endured abuse and ostracism from their local communities, lost their homes, subjected themselves to self-harm, and suffered financial, physical or mental distress.
The government, Post Office and Fujitsu will agree a programme of restorative justice for the victims.
Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said: “The publication of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry’s report today by Sir Wyn and his team marks an important milestone for subpostmasters and their families.
“I welcome the publication today and am committed to ensuring wronged subpostmasters are given full, fair, and prompt redress.
“The recommendations contained in Sir Wyn’s report require careful reflection, including on further action to complete the redress schemes. Government will promptly respond to the recommendations in full in Parliament.”
Post Office Minister, Gareth Thomas, said: “I welcome the Inquiry’s publication today and pay tribute to Sir Wyn and his team for their comprehensive and penetrating work.
“We must never lose sight of the Horizon Scandal’s human impact on postmasters and their families, which the Inquiry has highlighted so well.
“Sir Wyn’s report highlights a series of failings by the Post Office and various governments. His recommendations are immensely helpful as a guide for what is needed to finish the job, and we will respond in full to Parliament after carefully considering them.”
This comes as the “retraumatising” compensation process for subpostmasters could go on for another three years, lawyers have warned.
The report said three separate compensation schemes have been “bedevilled with unjustifiable delays”.
The previous Conservative government said those who had their convictions quashed were eligible for £600,000 payouts – with victims such as Amanda and Norman Barber accepting the fixed offer.
Despite losing their business and home, the Warrington couple said they found it “almost impossible” to provide the details required to have their case individually assessed so did not want to risk “getting less”.
Unexplained shortfalls in their accounts at Thelwall Post Office eventually led to them being prosecuted over a deficit of £5,600 – despite using around £200,000 of their own money to attempt to balance the books.
Both received a community order of 12 months and 100 hours’ community service.
'Years of torture'
Speaking about the redress process, Amanda, 55, said: “We were being asked to produce evidence we simply couldn’t get our hands on with regards to our losses as we are talking going back 15 years.“
We found it almost impossible to provide the details needed to go down the route of having our case individually assessed.“
"It just didn’t seem worth it. I think subpostmasters are still being left in an impossible situation when it comes to seeking true and full redress.“
"Given the time it would take we simply couldn’t risk a full assessment and getting less, particularly because the lack of documents we had.
“It got to the stage where, when the £600,000 was offered, it seemed the best way to bring years of torture to an end.”
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