Post Office scandal: 'Sunak must get cracking for victims'

Ian Warren believes the stress of the case contributed to his diagnosis of bowel cancer and his wife's early onset dementia at 58

A former sub-postmaster who says his life was ruined by the Post Office scandal has called on the prime minister to "get cracking" with plans to exonerate and compensate victims.

Ian Warren, 75, was wrongly accused of stealing £18,000 from his village post office in Essex, with his conviction eventually quashed in 2021.

He has not received a settlement and is concerned victims are "getting older".

Rishi Sunak has said the government is looking at all options.

More than 700 branch managers were convicted of false accounting, theft and fraud based on faulty software.

• Why were hundreds of Post Office workers prosecuted?

• Call for mass appeal to quash Post Office convictions

• Met Police investigating Post Office scandal

Fewer than 100 people have had their convictions quashed, with many still fighting to have their name cleared or to secure full compensation.

Some went to prison, many were financially ruined and some have since died.

ITV's Mr Bates vs the Post Office drama - a scene from which is seen here - has led to renewed anger over the scandal

"Be true to your word, and get independent mediators in to assess levels of compensation," said Mr Warren, who now lives in Dereham, Norfolk.

"Above all, just get cracking," he added.

"It's been a long, long time and as you can see, we're all getting older.

"One of the things that had become apparent is that the Post Office is still running the show when it comes to setting compensation - why?

"They caused all this, they should be removed from this."

'Colossal stress'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described the scandal as an "appalling miscarriage of justice" and called on all victims to come forward.

He said the government was reviewing options - including stripping the Post Office of its role in the appeal process.

Mr Warren was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in 2008.

He said he blamed the "colossal" stress for his subsequent bowel cancer and his wife being diagnosed with dementia at 58.

Reflecting on his arrest, he believes the most "insidious" part of the investigation was hiding its breadth from victims.

"Like every single one of us, I asked the same question: 'How many people are finding themselves in this position?'

"And they said: 'You are only one'."

Baljit (left) and wife Anjana (second left) were victims of gaslighting amid a gigantic financial scandal, their son Adeep (holding baby) said

His thoughts were echoed by Adeep Sethi, who said there was clear "gaslighting" of victims like his parents, who ran a Post Office near Romford, east London.

Baljit and Anjana Sethi were never charged but were forced into bankruptcy and feared losing the family home when they were asked to cover a £17,000 hole in their accounts.

"They couldn't get a credit card, they got the worst mortgage rate on the market, and then my father had to retrain as a security guard doing night shifts," he said.

"Families were destroyed over this.

"This groundswell of support has to be turned into fair compensation in weeks to months, not longer.

"A lot of victims are in their 70s; let's expedite the system for the victims but to make sure those responsible are held accountable soon."

A Post Office spokesperson has said it shares the aims of the public inquiry to get to the truth of what went wrong in the past and "establish accountability".

The Metropolitan Police is investigating the Post Office over potential fraud offences arising from the prosecutions.