Horizon victim says scandal publicity 'did us proud'

Jo Hamilton in South Warnborough, Hampshire, said she "has now received 80%" of the compensation she requested.

A former Post Mistress who was falsely accused of stealing £36,000 from her branch said publicity around the scandal "did us proud".

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters from across the UK were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting based on faulty computer system called Horizon.

Jo Hamilton, 67, who ran the Post Office in South Warnborough, Hampshire, has now received 80%" of the compensation she requested.

She thanked the publicity gained from ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office and hopes a new BBC documentary might inspire the new government to "sort this out once and for all".

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, Ms Hamilton remembered when she first noticed problems at her branch and said she kept paying money back every time there was a discrepancy until she "run out of money".

She said that she pleaded guilty to false accounting at the time because she believed she was in the wrong.

The former post-mistress, who was spared prison, remembered court proceedings and how "the whole village turned out to support me".

She has thanked the increased publicity of the Post Office Scandal in recent years, which has meant she has managed to get compensation.

"It's not masses of money but it's enough to now have cleared my mortgage, got out of debt and we've got a little bit in the bank."

The Department for Business and Trade told the BBC that redress to sub-postmasters and their families who have suffered is a priority of the new Labour government.

'Tormented, verbally abused and racially abused'

Vipin Patel, the former sub-postmaster at Horspath Post Office, in Oxfordshire, was wrongfully prosecuted for shortfalls at his branch in excess of £75,000 from 2010 to 2011.

His son Varchas said he is still fighting to get compensation for his father.

He admitted: "No matter how much redress and compensation my family receives, these are memories, which will stay with us for the rest of our lives sadly."

He said his mother and father were "tormented, verbally abused and racially abused" because the Post Office "made the local community believe that their local sub postmaster or sub post mistress was a thief and sadly some communities believed it".

He said that the situation has affected his father's mental health and claims he has suffered from "depression" and "post traumatic stress disorder"

Surviving the Post Office, presented by actor Will Mellor, will hear how sub-postmasters are trying to rebuild their lives after being wrongly accused of crimes.

Mr Mellor, played former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton, in ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

He has spoken to the real people behind the Post Office scandal in the programme, which is available on the BBC iPlayer and will be shown on BBC One at 20:30 BST.

There is also a five episode BBC Sounds podcast on the programme.

The Post Office told the BBC it is sorry for the suffering caused to so many people. It added it now works in partnership with postmasters and is committed to transforming today’s Post Office.