Wigan postmasters who had their lives wrecked by Horizon IT scandal to be compensated and have their names cleared

Despite concerns first being raised about the faulty Horizon accounting software 25 years ago and the setting up of a statutory inquiry in 2021, it has taken an ITV dramatisation to focus attention on the issue.

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones, Will Mellor, Monica Dolan and Julie Hesmondhalgh, shone a light on how subpostmasters were wrongly convicted over money which was missing due to the flawed IT system.

The public inquiry, which resumed its deliberations on Thursday (January 11), has so far heard harrowing accounts from many people who lost their livelihoods and had their health ruined after they were accused by the post office of stealing money and fiddling their accounts.

They included two Wigan victims: Susan McKnight and John Valentine.

In her impact statement, Ms McKnight was subpostmistress at Appley Bridge Post Office from January 2005 to September 2009. Prior to this, she was a civil servant but retired due to suffering from multiple sclerosis.

She said she received two weeks of training on Horizon before taking on her role and a 10-minute session when the ATM was installed. She found the training "very basic and inadequate."

Repeated shortfalls on the Horizon system led to the Post Office demanding she repay £53,000 and eventually terminating her contract.

Post Office Limited moved the post office out of her premises which led to a decline in income. She could no longer make the mortgage payments on her home and repossession proceedings began. Post Office Limited obtained a judgment against Susan in January 2013 and placed a charge on her home. Susan was interviewed under caution and threatened with criminal proceedings. Ms McKnight lost the business entirely in 2014 when the property was repossessed.

She told the inquiry she and her family were the subject of local gossip and that she was made to feel like a criminal. In addition, an existing condition of multiple sclerosis was exacerbated and she also developed breast cancer.

She said: "Because we were well-known people in a small village, the embarrassment of the Post Office’s actions was very hard on us and there was gossip spread about us. It was very embarrassing to have to explain why we had our contract suddenly terminated or why we had our home repossessed. We were forced to hide things from people who we knew, which strained our friendships.”

Mr Valentine - who was the subpostmaster at Platt Bridge Post Office between 1981 and 2002 - told the inquiry he used a paper-based accounting system for almost 20 years prior to the introduction of Horizon and experienced no major problems.

After the introduction of the Horizon system, Mr Valentine contacted the Post Office helpline two to three times a month in the early stages, owing to regular and repeated shortfalls. The helpline were of little help and would say that the system would right itself and, if not, he was told he was to make good the shortfalls.

He also “distinctly remembers” being told by the helpline that he was the only one who had such problems.

Mr Valentine made good the shortfalls when they occurred. An audit in 2002 discovered a supposed shortfall of £15,000. A follow-up audit two days later saw this reduced to £900. Nevertheless, he was suspended. A short time later, his contract was terminated, despite 21 years of service.

A temporary subpostmaster was appointed to run the branch but Mr Valentine was still liable for the rent on the premises, despite having no income. He lost the value in the business and the investment he had made into refitting the premises.

Mr Valentine recalled that he spent endless hours searching for apparently missing money. He was also constantly stressed and anxious, and blamed the Post Office for the downward spiral of events.

He said: "I became withdrawn and depressed. I considered taking my own life on a couple of occasions. I was paranoid, thinking my staff were stealing. I became suspicious and turned into a person I barely recognise.

"I felt I had failed at my job. I was treated like a criminal. My business was destroyed. My finances ruined. My mental health suffered, as did my pride. The Post Office action against me devastated my life.”

The Horizon software started to be rolled out in Post Office branches across the UK in 1999 and over the subsequent years a series of subpostmasters were prosecuted over missing funds.

In 2019 the High Court ruled that Horizon contained a number of “bugs, errors and defects” and there was a “material risk” that shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.

Even before the ITV drama was aired, it was ruled that those whose convictions are overturned would be eligible for a £600,000 compensation payment, or potentially more if they go through a process of having their claim individually assessed.

However a far greater number of victims were not prosecuted but still lost their homes and livelihoods on the basis of evidence from the faulty accounting software. This week the government announced a £75,000 offer for subpostmasters involved in a group legal action against the Post Office – with ministers setting aside up to £1 billion for compensation.

The chair of the independent Horizon compensation advisory board has welcomed the news that hundreds of subpostmasters in England and Wales could have their names cleared by the end of the year under blanket legislation.