Hello Everyone, 

Sorry for the lack of updates, things have been pretty hectic over the past few months travelling back and forth to the public inquiry, media interviews, a trip to Glastonbury to talk about the scandal and a lot more campaigning behind the scenes trying to change the adversarial redress processes to ensure the overarching principle to restore people back to the position they would have been in had it not been for the scandal is met.

Well tonight on BBC One, make sure you tune in to see a brand new documentary fronted by actor Will Mellor who starred in the Mr Bates Vs The Post Office drama on ITV back in January, playing former Sub Postmaster Lee Castleton called "Surviving the Post Office."

Will takes a journey across England to meet some of the real-life subpostmasters whose lives have been torn apart by injustice. After being wrongly accused of theft, many of the victims lost not only their savings but also their livelihoods. As the country wakes up to the full scale of the scandal, Will finds out what’s happened to the people involved, as well as their families. He discovers that many of them want to take back control of their lives. For some, facing the past proves a troubling experience, while for others it heralds a liberating new step forwards.

Twenty-five years after the first convictions for theft and fraud, the four-part drama sparked mass public interest in the Post Office scandal like never before. It detailed the experiences of some of the hundreds of sub-postmasters prosecuted due to incorrect information from the Horizon computer system, described as the UK's most widespread miscarriage of justice in recent history.

The Post Office took many cases to court itself, prosecuting 700 people between 1999 and 2015. Some innocent sub-postmasters were sent to prison and many were financially ruined. Lee, the former sub-postmaster of Marine Drive Post Office in Bridlington, Yorkshire, tried to defend himself in the High Court against accusations he had stolen money and was bankrupted when he lost the case.

“I hardly knew anything about the scandal before I read the script,” Will said.

“Like a lot of people I’d read some things, I’d heard some things - it was about a faulty computer system and didn’t feel like an exciting story. But when you see the effect of this and realise how isolated these people were, how they were made to feel like they were the only ones, how innocent people were made to feel like criminals - not only by the Post Office but sometimes by their communities - I think the public really felt it and reacted as a result.”

The Post Office told the BBC it is sorry for the suffering caused to so many people, adding that it now works in partnership with postmasters and is "committed to transforming the organisation".

In a new BBC documentary Surviving the Post Office, Will revisits the story which has become such a large part of his life. As part of the documentary he met people from across England whose lives were blown apart by the scandal and heard how they are attempting to move forward with their lives.

Many have never spoken publicly of their experience before. One of these people was mother-of-three Stephanie Gibson, a former Post Office clerk from South Pelaw in County Durham. In 2007, Stephanie – then aged 28 – was charged and taken to court after she was wrongly accused of stealing money from the branch she worked in.

Her court case made the front page of her local paper, alongside her picture. After an eight-day trial, Stephanie was acquitted and told by a judge she could leave court “without a stain on her character”.

“I should have been happy at that point,” she told Will over a cup of tea in her kitchen. “I just wanted to go back to a normal life. “It didn't work that way.” That evening, as she put her children to bed, a brick was thrown through her window. Over the following days paint stripper was poured on her car, she was spat at in the street and ostracised by people in her local community. Stephanie and her young family moved out of the area almost immediately, fearing for their safety. As a result, Stephanie’s world narrowed beyond recognition – she became a recluse, only leaving her new house when absolutely necessary.

'A physical response'

“What was shocking about Stephanie was the amount of time that had passed since she was acquitted,” Will said.

“She was still traumatised by it all and hadn’t been able to move on - it had affected her life, her children’s lives, even where she lived. “Imagine waking up every day and having this sitting on you while everyone else is getting on with their lives.”

After talking through her ordeal, Stephanie agreed for Will to drive her to the street she fled, her first time returning in more than 16 years. “She was shaking in the car on the way, holding the door,” he said. “It was a physical response - I could see she was still tormented and still going through it all”

But an encounter with one of the street’s residents when they arrived changed everything. “A former neighbour came over and gave Stephanie a hug,” he said. “The emotion just poured out of her, she was crying, it was the release that she’s just not been able to have. “That was huge and I think it’s the first step of recovery for her - I hope she can sleep a bit better at night now and I’m so glad I was a part of that."

The documentary also took Will to Gainsborough in Lincolnshire to meet brother and sister Thomas and Katie Watson, the children of sub-postmaster Fiona Watson. The family moved to the area when Thomas and Katie were eight and 10-years-old respectively.

They thrived in their new life at the heart of their local community living above the shop, which was bolstered by an award for Post Office of the Year. But just a year later Post Office auditors got in touch – money was missing from the accounts.

An internal investigation and a formal hearing followed. “The option their mum was given was plead guilty, be a criminal, have no job, no post office but still see your kids, or go to prison and you don’t see your kids,” Will said "What kind of an option is that?" It was devastating for the family, but worse news was to come.

During the investigation, Fiona was diagnosed with lymphoma and died soon afterwards, her young children by her side.

'A family torn apart!'

Will said when he met the siblings he could tell they were in pain. “It was written all over their faces.

When they told me their story I realised this was a family was completely torn apart. “Their mother passed away as a criminal – she was never proven innocent while she was alive. “You can’t ever get that back and I can’t imagine what they’ve been through.” 

The Department for Business and Trade told the BBC that redress to sub-postmasters and their families who have suffered is a priority of the new Labour government. Describing the scandal as “appalling”, a spokesperson for the department said financial losses are “taken into account under various compensation schemes” and families can apply for financial redress if a postmaster has died.

'Groundswell of support!' 

Will said the victims he met on his journey around England for the Surviving the Post Office documentary are never far from his thoughts.

“The story sits with me all the time and I’m angry every time I talk about it,” he said.

“People lost their lives, people lost their childhoods, their homes, they’ve had time taken from them they can never get back."

However, for all the horror, injustice and tragedy of the Post Office scandal, Will said he believes the groundswell of public support has the power to be transformative for those who have suffered. “I know from speaking to Lee Castleton that he’s overwhelmed by the support from the public,” he said.

“And I still get it every day – every day somebody stops me and says: ‘Well done on the Post Office’. “Part of me feels a bit guilty – I was just a small part of this, I’m an actor doing a job and I’m just grateful and privileged to be able to do it. “But I’m proud I got the opportunity to be part of something positive in this, something that has the potential to give victims of this scandal some hope.”

Surviving the Post Office is available to watch on iPlayer now below and on BBC One at 20:30 BST.

BBC iPlayer - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0021cxh/surviving-the-post-office

There is also a brand new BBC Sounds Podcast out now also featuring Will Mellor. So before you eagerly await the documentary on BBC One tonight at 20:30 you can listen podcast on the Scandal, covering stories of Sub-Postmasters, Postmistresses and counter clerks who you have never heard from before. It is a 5 part series.

Introduction  Welcome to Surviving the Post Office

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jc1321

1) “Nobody would listen to us”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jc1642

2) “Mum, your best was good enough” 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jc1dmc

3) “I would have sooner gone to prison than lie” 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jc1gf3

4) “Living my life peacefully and moving on” 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jc1h6c

5) "The village rallied round”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jc1hrj

There has been so much going on with the ongoing public inquiry and if you want to stay up to date with the things going on, I try to post as regularly as possible on X (twitter) here > https://x.com/chrish9070

On a final note the compensation fiasco is ongoing.  Although there have been some improvements over the course of the past few weeks, it is still not the full and fair compensation promised and nor is it 'fast'.  

I submitted a partial non pecuniary claim in June 2023 and a full claim in September 2023.  Offer 1 came back on the 28th December 2023 at 12.5% of the value of the claim submitted.  Remember the claim in accordance with the government was prepared by expert forensic accountants that they themselves pre-approved and funded.  We rejected this offer in writing on the 15th January 2024 so just over 2 weeks later.  They then invited us to an ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) call where the aim of the call is to reach a settlement.  It was nothing of the sort as the government external lawyers did not have permission to make or receive offers on their side, it was simply nothing more than a fishing expedition.  We were expressly told ahead of the meeting to make sure you were ready to make and receive offers on the call as the aim was to reach a final settlement.  This was impossible.  We were then approached about what it would take to settle the claim, we advised them of our position and this also went absolutely no where.  A total of 11.5 weeks after initially rejecting the claim we received a 2nd offer in the first week of April which was for approximately 20.5% of the claim, so an uplift of 8%, however this time they had miscalculated the interest element of the offer so the total offer was actually incorrect.  The heads of loss that accrue interest had increased yet the interest had gone down from offer 1.  Just complete incompetence on their part.  After rejecting offer 2 but also proposing to discuss the claim and offer alternative reasoning and projections a further update was received just under 2 weeks ago of approximately 30% of the claim - but with the caveat against one of the heads of loss that is most in dispute that this was the full and final offer they would make.  We have since rejected this and preparing to move to the Independent Panel for an assessment.  The current stance is that my actual earnings would grow year on year in line with an average inflation calculation (which is expected and agreed) yet their 'but for' earnings had I remained in the Post Office would have remained static for entirety of the term going forward, which is like comparing Apple's and Orange's.  This is in addition to the fact that between 2006 upon taking over the business the gross and net income was increasing year on year.  The Post Office salary alone for a single counter position increased from £18.206 to over £32,000 in 2015, and that is without the retail side of the Village / Convenience Store taken into account.  So had the Horizon Scandal not happened, why would the 'but for' earnings stay static.  Unfortunately this is what we are up against.

My understanding is Sir Alan Bates remains in a similar position.  Having received his first offer in January 2024 of approximately 16% and a 2nd offer in May 2024 of around 30% he has also pushed to go to the independent panel.  There seems to be a complete disparity about how tortious loss is applied.  There are many different circumstances affecting all those involved, however some may have been unable to work or unable to work going forward, whereas others have had their earning potential damaged so badly due to the reputational damage suffered and unable to secure similar paying work or what they would have continued to earn had their remained in their Post Office's adjusted for annual CPI inflation.  This is not being addressed in the offers to be applied correctly to past net loss of earnings and future loss of earnings.

I will send out another update in due course, in the meantime have a listen to the BBC Sounds Podcast and tune in tonight on BBC One at 20:30.