Toby Jones proud of effect of Post Office drama

Toby Jones was in conversation with Deborah McAndrew, Creative Director of the Claybody Theatre Company

Actor Toby Jones, who played the lead role in a TV series about the Post Office scandal, has said he is "immensely proud" of the impact the drama has had.

He starred as Alan Bates in the ITV show Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which tells the story of hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting.

It happened due to a defective IT system called Horizon.

Jones, speaking at an event for Claybody Theatre Company in Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday, said he was really surprised at the effect of the drama, describing it as "unprecedented".

Since the four-part series aired at the start of the year, the government has brought in emergency laws to exonerate and compensate victims of the Horizon scandal.

Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake said £1bn had been budgeted for compensation payments.

"The fact that it was being spoken about in Parliament within three weeks is absolutely extraordinary," Jones said

There were more than 900 convictions linked to the scandal over 16 years, with only 93 so far being overturned.

Jones backed calls to speed up compensation, saying payments needed to be made "before any more sub-postmasters die".

'Absolutely extraordinary'

He told BBC Radio Stoke: "There have been many dramas in the past that have had a political influence, but not quite as urgently and directly as this.

"The story of the postmasters' struggle for justice was so brilliantly dramatised by the writer and the fact that it was being spoken about in Parliament within three weeks is absolutely extraordinary.

"I'm very proud to have played a small part in bringing that to the screen and that the ramifications from it carry on."

• Why were hundreds of Post Office workers prosecuted?

• How do the Post Office scandal compensation schemes work?

• The power of Mr Bates vs The Post Office in bringing about justice

Jones was doing a question and answer session for Claybody Theatre, where he has been a patron since 2018.

He said playing the part of Alan Bates, who had led the campaign to get justice for postmasters, had been one of the most difficult roles of his career.

“He was constantly denying the fact that he was worthy of being the subject of the drama, because his life is totally preoccupied with achieving justice for sub-postmasters,” Jones said.

"The idea of making him the hero of a drama seemed to him to be utterly irrelevant, but the great thing is he's thrilled with how the public have responded to the story."