Six postal workers took their own lives while others became seriously ill or were declared bankrupt, a public inquiry into Britain's Post Office IT scandal said on Tuesday as it laid bare the impact on more than 1,000 sub-postmasters.
The state-owned Post Office pursued branch managers for losses in their accounts caused by flaws in an IT system from around 2000 to 2013, resulting in about 1,000 of them being convicted in one of the country's biggest miscarriages of justice.
Outrage about the scandal erupted after ITV dramatised the managers' campaign in "Mr Bates vs the Post Office" last year, leading to legislation to exonerate those convicted.
Public inquiry chair Wyn Williams said he was satisfied that Post Office executives knew, or at least should have known, that the IT system supplied by Fujitsu was capable of error but they maintained the fiction that it was accurate.
He called for urgent action to ensure full compensation in the first volume of his report.
Williams said it was impossible to ascertain exactly how many people had been impacted, but he said there were about 10,000 eligible claimants across four compensation schemes.
Detailing 17 first-hand accounts, Williams said suffering ranged from those held liable for small amounts of money to those who were wrongly imprisoned, fell seriously ill or were driven to despair and suicide.
Postmaster Martin Griffiths was given notice of termination of his contract in 2013 after shortfalls in his accounts.
He then deliberately walked in front of a bus, suffering multiple injuries which caused his death at the age of 59.Others suffered mental and physical health problems, bankruptcy and relationship breakdowns, the 162-page-report said.
Williams recommended free legal advice, compensation for family members and a commitment to true "full and fair" compensation.
Key parts of the report:
- Errors in the system: The Post Office and Fujitsu "knew, or at the very least should have known", the Horizon IT system used in PO branches had faults. The sub-postmasters are also described as “victims of wholly unacceptable behaviour” by the two companies
- Impact on sub-postmasters and their families: It is “impossible to ascertain” how many people suffered, the report says. Many endured abuse in their local communities, considered or subjected themselves to self-harm, suffered psychological harm, lost their homes, suffered financial, physical and mental distress, and turned to alcoholism
- Lives lost: Thirteen people were found to have taken their own lives, six former sub-postmasters and seven others who were not sub-postmasters. The inquiry's chair Wyn Williams says he also "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"
- The key numbers: Approximately 1,000 Post Office workers were prosecuted, and only 50-60 were not convicted. Thousands were suspended - considerably more than those who faced criminal proceedings - and many later had their contracts terminated
- Delays to compensation: The delivery of redress to claimants under three separate schemes has been “bedevilled with unjustifiable delays”, and while some are satisfied, there are many who are not
- Redress: The government will devise a programme of redress to close family members of those most adversely affected. Additionally, the government, Post Office and Fujitsu will agree a programme of restorative justice