My name’s Christopher Head.  Those who follow me on twitter will have heard of me and you’ve probably heard my story especially in the last few days across the media outlets. I was a postmaster in West Boldon, a small village in the North East of England.  The ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which has been headline news since it aired, was about the things that happened to me and the lives of hundreds of other postmasters who were wrongly prosecuted and convicted of theft, fraud, and false accounting - all because of a dodgy computer system. Thousands of others were hounded for shortfalls they simply didn't owe and still lost everything.

I’ve been campaigning for compensation, accountability, and justice for years - so it’s a little surreal to see the scandal becoming the number one issue of the day and right up the political agenda, better late than never they say! I first launched a petition on Change.org in 2020 - I gained the support of thousands of people, but since the drama has aired interest has exploded and it’s grown to almost 400,000 signatures in a matter of days.

In response to news coverage and public pressure, The Met Police have confirmed they are now investigating the scandal. Meanwhile, the Government has said it is ‘considering’ exonerating those of us who were wrongly convicted with an announcement expected today at PMQ's.

The next important issue is full and fair compensation for those affected.  The government rhetoric that they will do everything they can and restore Postmasters back to the position they would have been in had this scandal not happened.  However the reality on the ground is very different and both Post Office and Government are using expensive lawyers to litigate every claim and ignore forensic expert reports.  This should not have to be yet another uphill battle for Postmasters to receive proper financial redress they are due.  Recently I received an offer less than 15% of a professionally prepared claim, this is an insult for what everyone has been through.

In its first sitting after recess the House of Commons on Monday had another long debate on this scandal I got another mention by my MP Kate Osborne and the Postal Minister Kevin Hollinrake.  He joked that he reads all my tweets on twitter and I get my message across which is good to know.  It is important we keep dialogue open in order to drive this to a resolution.  Here is the debate tweet in the House :- 

https://x.com/chrish9070/status/1744651303123329400?s=20

But nothing is guaranteed and our fight continues - will you sign my petition today to help me keep pressure on the Government to do the right thing?