Post Office scandal may have led to 13 suicides

At least 13 people may have killed themselves as a result of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal and it drove at least 59 more to contemplate suicide, according to the first findings from the public inquiry into what has been called the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history.

- Julia Kollewe

The 162-page volume one report from Sir Wyn Williams, the retired judge who chaired the hearings, looks at the "disastrous human impact" on thousands of post office operators wrongly held responsible for shortfalls in their branches caused by faulty software.

It also covers compensation, arguing the Post Office and its advisers had in many cases adopted an "unnecessarily adversarial attitude" to those seeking redress, who now number at least 10,000 - far higher than the more than 1,000 people prosecuted.

Williams said evidence had revealed a "profoundly disturbing" picture. While four suicides have been blamed on the scandal, Williams said at least 13 could be linked to it, and the total may be higher with some deaths unreported. A further 19 people began abusing alcohol, with some saying they could not sleep at night without drinking first.

Of the 59 who had thoughts about killing themselves, 10 went on to attempt suicide, some on more than one occasion. Contemplating suicide "was a common experience across both those who were and were not prosecuted", the report said.

One post office operator said: "The impact on me of the treatment the Post Office subjected me to has been immeasurable. The mental stress was so great for me that I had a mental breakdown and turned to alcohol as I sank further into depression.

I attempted suicide on several occasions and was admitted to a mental health institution twice." About 1,000 post office operators were prosecuted and convicted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015, the report said, because of faulty Horizon accounting software that suggested they had committed fraud. A further 50 to 60 people, possibly more, were prosecuted but not convicted. The total wrongly held responsible for losses was in the thousands, with many making up the shortfall out of their own pocket without ever being charged.