Sub-postmistress had to 'disappear' after Horizon

Kate Mackay resigned from her sub-postmistress job after being suspended without pay

A former sub-postmistress who was suspended during the Post Office Horizon scandal believed she was "in the wrong" for years.

Kate Mackay resigned from her position at a branch in Bradford in 2008 after the IT system, which was later revealed to have been riddled with faults, showed an £8,000 shortfall on her books.

Although she was never prosecuted, Ms Mackay had to repay the money and said she had felt "ashamed" because she believed the Post Office's insistence that Horizon was "infallible".

A documentary about the scandal, presented by actor Will Mellor, airs on BBC One on Monday night, and Ms Mackay spoke to the BBC to coincide with its release.

She began working at the branch in Baildon in 2003, and was five years into the role when the claim was made against her. She had to borrow money to reimburse the Post Office and was left struggling.

She said she "buried" the feelings she had about the saga and had forgotten many details in the years afterwards as a "self-preservation" mechanism.

Ms Mackay said she went through an "awful time" after leaving a job she loved

Speaking to the BBC about her experiences for the first time, Ms Mackay said: "I just thought that I was in the wrong and that I'd made a mistake somewhere and I'd miscalculated.

"I just paid it (the shortfall) and then I was suspended without pay that day.

"It's only in the past few years I've realised it wasn't me to blame. When I was contacted a few years ago to see if I wanted to make a (legal) claim I said 'no' because I still thought I'd made a mistake.

"It was an awful time. I felt really ashamed.

"I loved the job and I loved the customers. I was well-liked and I had to disappear."

The plight of the hundreds of postmasters and postmistresses affected by the scandal was highlighted in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office earlier this year.

Among those starring in the series was Will Mellor, who played the Bridlington sub-postmaster Lee Castleton wrongly accused of stealing £25,000 from his branch in 2004.

'Related so much'

Ms Mackay said watching the ITV drama had helped change her mindset on what happened to her.

"I related so much to everything that went on," she said.

"I felt like there was something lifted from my shoulders after watching that, because I knew then I wasn't on my own.

"Until then I'd felt like I was still guilty and that it was everyone else who had a legitimate claim."

Mr Mellor meets victims of the scandal in Surviving the Post Office, which will be broadcast at 20:30 BST on Monday on BBC One.

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