Shrewsbury Post Office victim glad to finally be listened to

Rubbina Shaheen and husband Mohamed Hami ran Greenfields post office and convenience store in Shrewsbury

A ex-sub-postmistress who was wrongly convicted of false accounting and theft says the government's plan to speed up compensation is "brilliant news".

Rubbina Shaheen, who worked in Shrewsbury, was jailed in 2010 as a result of Horizon the faulty software used by the Post Office.

In April 2021, the Court of Appeal quashed Mrs Shaheen's conviction.

She and husband Mohamed Hami lost their home following her conviction and they were forced to sleep in a van.

Mrs Shaheen, originally from Birmingham, said it finally felt like the victims were being listened to.

Compensation measures were announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday followed an ITV drama about the Horizon scandal.

Mr Hami said the TV series "highlighted what really happened to the post-masters and mistresses".

The scandal had been covered in news reports previously and Mr Hami said he had told the story to friends and family, but the drama showed what it was really like for the victims and their families.

The prime minister told MPs: "We will make sure that the truth comes to light"

The government has said it intends to bring in a new law to "swiftly exonerate and compensate victims" of the Post Office scandal.

It said it aims to complete the process by the end of 2024 and Mr Sunak said 555 former postmasters who brought a group lawsuit will be offered an upfront payment of £75,000.

"That's what we wanted from the start, somebody just to listen to us and to get it sorted out," Mrs Shaheen said.

The scandal has returned to the headlines following an ITV drama

More than 700 branch managers were convicted of false accounting, theft and fraud based on evidence from the faulty software over 16 years - now described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.

To date though, only 93 people have had their convictions overturned.

Mrs Shaheen was accused of taking £43,000 from her branch and at the time, she said: "It just felt as though the ground opened and swallowed you up, it felt that bad.

"You couldn't get your head round it, you couldn't even think straight."

She later suffered renal failure, which she believes was brought on by the stress of her situation.

Mrs Shaheen had always maintained her innocence and in April 2021, appeal judges confirmed her innocence and that the Horizon system was to blame.