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Scottish postmasters whose lives were destroyed by the Horizon IT scandal have been forced to set up a new campaign group claiming they have been “left behind”.
The newly formed Scottish Postmasters for Justice and Redress will launch at the Scottish Parliament next month with the hope of reaching more victims of the IT scandal.
More than 700 sub-postmasters including up to 100 in Scotland were wrongly blamed for shortfalls flagged by the faulty IT system with many prosecuted for theft and false accounting from 2000 to 2014.
Rab Thompson had his conviction overturned two decades after he was accused of embezzling £5,700 from his office in Cambus, near Alloa. He had pleaded guilty to avoid jail time over the mysterious shortfall and received a community sentence. He is still awaiting compensation. The dad is calling for other postmasters to come forward.
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He told the Daily Record: “We want postmasters in Scotland to know you’re not alone. A lot of postmasters in Scotland are not coming forward and we don’t know why. Maybe many are elderly or just don’t have the support. We know there must be so many more out there and we are here to say, if you need help, get in touch.
“I was so close to throwing the towel in and just accepting what had happened. But the more the Scottish postmasters can fight on this, the better for us all. In Scotland, we are being left behind on overturned convictions and redress. This is a long process but hopefully together there will be some light at the end of the tunnel.”
Meanwhile, Chris Dawson lost his marriage of 14 years, his reputation, and went bankrupt after being pursued by the company over missing cash.
He ran the Pitlochry branch in Perth and Kinross from 2007 to 2010 but was suspended, and a probe was opened when a shortfall of £17,500 was discovered. Although he avoided a conviction and received an apology from the Post Office, he has since joined the fight for redress.
He said: “Even to this day, there are people in Pitlochry who don’t know I’ve been completely exonerated. Something needs to be done to let people know none of us were guilty—it was the Post Office all along. We want other postmasters to know, you weren’t the only one, and you’re not alone.”
Former MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, Marion Fellows, helped launch the group after years of campaigning, which intensified following the ITV drama Mr Bates v The Post Office that sparked public outrage.
Ms Fellows, who chaired the all-party parliamentary group on Post Offices, worried that there could be “countless” hidden victims of the Horizon scandal in Scotland who have “buried” their trauma.
She said: “It is vital that proper redress is given. The airing of Mr Bates v The Post Office and the furore that followed led many to believe the issues of redress had been settled. This is definitely not the case.”
(Image: ITV)
Postmasters are invited to the Scottish Parliament event, also organised by the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, at 12pm on April 2.
A Post Office spokeswoman said: “We apologise unreservedly to victims of the Horizon IT Scandal and today’s Post Office is focused, alongside Government, on paying redress as quickly as possible so that people can move forward with their lives.
“More than £768million has been paid to 5100 people and we continue to listen to feedback to make improvements to the redress process.”
The Scottish Government was approached for comment.
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