Mr Bates vs The Post Office tells the shocking true story of how hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft and false accounting due to a defective IT system.
Over the four episodes, Mr Bates vs The Post Office tracks how many of the wronged postal workers were prosecuted and some were imprisoned, while also dramatising the landmark Court of Appeal decision which saw their criminal convictions overturned, and the continuing fight for justice.
The Post Office Scandal remains one of the most jaw-dropping miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Here’s a timeline of what happened and when.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story: A timeline of the scandal
In 1999, the Post Office introduced a new computer accounting system called Horizon. And that’s when the problems began.
Fujitsu designed the system for tasks such as transactions, accounting and stocktaking. It wrongly detected the existence of financial shortfalls at dozens of post offices.
Within one year, the Post Office installed Horizon terminals in 18,000 branches.
Horizon installed in 18,000 Post Office branches during 2000
During 2000, the Post Office trained 63,000 employees to operate the new Horizon system. But already, staff had reported problems with it.
Alan Bates, a sub-postmaster in North Wales, raised the first complaints. The Post Office subsequently sacked him. The former PO employee went on to become a central figure in the fight for justice.
In Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story, Toby Jones portrays Alan Bates, who was determined to seek justice for his wrongful dismissal.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story: Noel Thomas reports a £6,000 deficit in 2003
In 2003, sub-postmaster Noel Thomas from Anglesey discovered a deficit of £6,000. He reported the ‘missing funds’ to Post Office Ltd.
Noel had worked for the Post Office for 42 years. The shortfall eventually led to his wrongful arrest and conviction.
2004: Alan Bates reports problems to magazine Computer Weekly
Alan Bates reported the problems with Horizon to magazine Computer Weekly in 2004.
The former sub-postmaster accused the Post Office of not taking his concerns seriously. The magazine took five years to gather enough evidence to publish a story on the software in 2009.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story: Noel Thomas spends birthday in jail
In 2005, the Post Office told employee Noel Thomas he owed the company £50,000. The police convicted him of false accounting.
Tragically, Noel spent his 60th birthday in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.
The same year, Jo Hamilton, from Hampshire, pleaded guilty to false accounting to avoid prison. She was, in fact, innocent of all wrongdoing. Welsh actress Monica Dolan portrays her in the ITV series Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.
In 2007, Janet Skinner accused of stealing
Janet Skinner ran a post office in Hull. The Post Office accused the sub-postmaster of stealing.
In 2007, a judge imprisoned her for nine months over a shortfall of £59,000. Janet has since said that the scandal “destroyed her life”.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story – campaign group formed
In 2009, Alan Bates formed the campaign group Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance.
The JFSA aimed to expose the failures of Post Office, its Board, its management and its Horizon computer system.
Pregnant Seema Misra sent to jail in 2010
In 2010, Seema Misra was convicted of theft and sent to jail. The Post Office operator in Surrey was pregnant with her second child at the time.
She was suspended because of a £74,000 shortfall. Press reports described her as the “pregnant thief”. Tragically, locals even beat up her husband after her conviction.
In 2022, she appeared on Panorama talking about the shocking injustice.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story – Vipinchandra Patel imprisoned in 2011
Vipinchandra Patel was accused of stealing £75,000 and pleaded guilty to fraud in 2011. The judge handed him an 18-week prison sentence.
The former Oxfordshire sub-postmaster has since said: “It has impacted on every aspect of life. It caused the breakdown of relationships with some family members and friends. It impacted on the lives of my wife and children.”
After his release, he was unable to work due to having a criminal record and being left with health problems due to the stress.
The same year, former Post Office manager William Graham from Sevenoaks was convicted of false accounting. He was given a 32-week suspended prison sentence.
2012: An investigative firm conducts an independent inquiry
In 2012, Investigative firm Second Sight conducted an independent inquiry into Horizon.
The same year, Post Office Ltd created the Initial Complaint Review and Mediation Scheme. One hundred and 50 former sub-postmasters signed up for the scheme.
Meanwhile, Second Sight used their testimonies to conduct another investigation.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story – worker dies by suicide
In 2013, Post Office Ltd finally admitted that there were defects within the Horizon software. However, they insisted the system had been fixed…
The same year, Second Sight issued their first report. The report made clear that there were serious problems at the Post Office.
Former post office worker Martin Griffith, 59, took his own life in 2013. He was wrongly accused of stealing £60,000.
All in all, more than 700 Post Office branch managers were handed criminal convictions. Based on the data from the system, the Post Office prosecuted 736 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses between 2000 and 2014, or one per week on average.
Horizon found “not fit for purpose” in 2014
In 2014, the Horizon technology was described as “not fit for purpose” in some branches. However, the Post Office said: “There is absolutely no evidence of any systemic issues with the computer system.”
The same year, MP James Arbuthnot accused the Post Office of rejecting 90 per cent of applications for mediation.
Between 2000 and 2014, the Post Office prosecuted 736 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses. The convictions were based on information from Horizon.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story – Post Office Ltd terminates scheme in 2015
In 2015, Post Office Ltd terminated the Initial Complaint Review and Mediation Scheme without notice. It published a report clearing themselves of any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the Post Office Ltd ordered Second Sight to end their investigation just one day before the report was due to be published. According to Private Eye, the Post Office Ltd asked Second Sight to destroy all the paperwork they had not handed over.
The same year, UK trade magazine ComputerWorld UK reported that Post Office Ltd obstructed the investigation. The company allegedly refused to hand over key files to Second Sight. The Post Office denied these claims.
2017: The JFSA takes the Post Office to court
In 2017, the JFSA took the Post Office to court through a group litigation action by 550 former employees.
The employees were mainly ex sub-postmasters.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story – Horizon software found “defective”
In 2018, Second Sight’s second investigation found Post Office software defective. They said that Horizon experienced 12,000 communication failures every year.
Second Sight also found software defects at 76 branches, as well as old and unreliable hardware.
2019: Post Office agreed to settle and pay damages
In December 2019, the Post Office agreed to settle with 555 claimants, paying £57.75m in damages. This came at the end of a long-running series of civil cases.
The claimants received a share of £12m, after legal fees were paid.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story – convictions quashed in 2020
In 2020, six former sub-postmasters had their convictions quashed in court.
These included long-suffering Alan Bates, who was the first to make a complaint about the system.
2021: A Government inquiry takes place
In January 2021, the first public hearing session for a Government inquiry into the scandal took place. The Post Office confirmed it would retain its controversial Horizon contract with Fujitsu until 2024.
In April 2021, the High Court quashed the convictions of 39 sub-postmasters. That month, the UK Post Office said it “sincerely apologised” for “historical failures”.
Thursday February 17, 2022 – public inquiry launched
A public inquiry began on Thursday February 17 2022. During the inquiry, Seema Misra said the Post Office behaved like the mafia and had “blood on its hands”.
Although the High Court judge indicated he would submit Fujitsu to the Director of Public Prosecutions for potential further action because he had “grave concerns” about the company’s employees’ testimony, nobody from the Post Office or Fujitsu has been held accountable thus far.
According to the Post Office’s website, Horizon is still being used.
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office true story: Where is Mr Bates now?
Former subpostmaster Alan Bates continues to fight for awareness of the Post Office scandal.
In 2023, Alan – who fought for decades to expose the Post Office Horizon IT scandal – declined an OBE. He said it would be inappropriate to accept an OBE when former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells still holds her CBE.
He insisted her CBE honour brings the “whole honours system into disrepute”.
Former subpostmaster Jo Hamilton, who had her wrongful conviction for false accounting overturned at the Court of Appeal in April 2021, said: “Against all the odds, Alan took on Goliath and won. He battled tirelessly and selflessly for more than two decades to secure justice and restoration for hundreds of innocent subpostmasters. What a man, our hero.”
Actor Toby Jones portrays Alan Bates in the cast of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. Meanwhile, Monica Dolan stars as wrongfully accused Jo Hamilton.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office airs on New Year’s Day 2023 at 9pm on ITV1.
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