The Post Office Horizon scandal has been dubbed the most "widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history". Now it has been made into a TV drama. ITV's ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’ tells the story of how hundreds of local post office branch managers were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting over a 15 year period. Many were sent to prison, left financially ruined and dealing with the long-term impacts of having a criminal record. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00 It's been dubbed the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history.
00:07 Now it's been made into a TV drama, with the final episode airing tonight on ITV.
00:12 Mr Bates vs the Post Office tells the story of how hundreds of local Post Office branch managers
00:19 were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting over a 15-year period.
00:25 This led to suspensions, wrongful prosecutions and criminal convictions.
00:30 It all started when a new computer system called Horizon, developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu,
00:36 was installed on Post Office computers from 1999.
00:39 It was then the biggest non-military IT project in Europe.
00:43 But shortly after its introduction, sub-Postmasters began reporting computer bugs,
00:49 which showed shortfalls they had never experienced before.
00:52 It says I've taken £2032.67 more than I think I have.
00:59 The Post Office, maintaining that the Horizon system was robust,
01:03 accused branch managers of stealing the money and held them accountable to cover the loss.
01:08 One sub-Postmaster was ordered to pay £35,000 in unexplained losses.
01:15 Between 2000 and 2014, a total of 736 local branch managers were wrongly prosecuted.
01:24 Many were sent to prison, left financially ruined and dealing with the long-term impacts of having a criminal record.
01:31 Several of those wrongly accused took their own lives.
01:35 The four-part series shows how former sub-Postmaster Alan Bates, played by Toby Jones,
01:40 leads a class-action lawsuit against the Post Office, taking the company to the High Court.
01:46 In December 2019, the Post Office agreed to settle with 555 claimants,
01:51 admitting it had got things wrong in some instances.
01:55 But after legal fees, the claimants received just £20,000 each.
02:00 A year later, the first six sub-Postmasters had their criminal convictions overturned,
02:05 before the High Court quashed another 37 in a single ruling.
02:10 In total, 72 convictions have been overturned, with many more expected to go through the courts.
02:18 But many Postmasters who continue to suffer the financial impact of their prosecutions
02:23 are still yet to receive their compensation.
02:27 The Post Office has also set up a number of its own compensation schemes,
02:31 but these have been accused of being too slow, with some of the victims having died before they received a penny.
02:38 And nobody at the Post Office or Fujitsu has yet been held accountable.
02:43 Recently, one Conservative MP has called on Paula Venels,
02:46 the woman in charge of the Post Office throughout the scandal,
02:49 to give back the OBE she was awarded in 2019.
02:53 Meanwhile, the lawyers for sub-Postmasters who were wrongfully convicted
02:57 say the public inquiry has produced enough evidence for the police to investigate senior Post Office staff.
03:04 The company says it sincerely apologises to those affected and is determined to address past events.
03:10 But Mr Bates vs the Post Office brings the scandal back into the spotlight,
03:15 with seemingly so much more to do to help families pick up the pieces,
03:19 given the immeasurable suffering they've faced.