Pramod ThomasBy: Pramod Thomas
Aa many as 60 victims of the Post Office scandal, who were falsely accused of theft due to computer accounting mistakes, have passed away prior to the conclusion of the public investigation, according to reports.
Four postmasters have committed suicide and three other victims of the Horizon IT scandal died before they could be cleared of the false accusations.
Besides, 52 individuals who had applied for compensation after being wrongly accused have also passed away, according to data obtained through freedom of information requests made to the Department for Business and Trade and the Post Office.
Campaigners have expressed concern that postmasters are running out of time to receive compensation, and are calling on government officials to intervene.
Thousands of Post Office owners were falsely accused of stealing from their tills after a computer malfunction in the Horizon IT system. Over 700 people were charged with crimes like fraud and theft, with scores sent to jail.
Others were forced to pay back “missing” funds, evicted from their businesses, or driven to bankruptcy or suicide between 1999 and 2015, in what is described as Britain’s most significant miscarriage of justice.
Up to £1 billion of taxpayers’ money has been set aside to settle compensation claims and legal fees, but delays and legal disputes could result in more victims dying without receiving a settlement. Former Post Office executives will be required to account for their actions in the inquiry later this year.
The scandal occurred in 2000 when Tony Blair’s government introduced a £1 billion computer system called Horizon across the Post Office network.
In the following 15 years, 3,500 postmasters were wrongly accused of stealing from their businesses. Three compensation schemes were created, but most of the 59 postmasters who have died did not receive full compensation in their lifetimes.
Only two of the group of postmasters who have had their convictions overturned have received full compensation.
The central Post Office company had initially refused to pay out compensation. Later, the company made an offer.
One of the victims was Parmod Kalia, 64, who was sentenced to six months in jail in 2002 after he was wrongfully convicted of stealing £27,000 from his post office in Orpington, Kent. His conviction was not quashed until 2021.
“They’ve bullied all along from the beginning and they’re still doing the same thing now. I just didn’t have the energy to fight them,” he told The Times.
The Post Office said ‘sorry’ for the repercussions of the Horizon scandal.
