‘Disastrous human impact’

Post Office scandal may have led to more than 13 suicides, inquiry finds as ‘profoundly disturbing’ picture emerges

- ARCHIE MITCHELL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

More than 13 people may have taken their own lives as a result of the Post Office scandal, according to the first tranche of a public inquiry's report into what has been described as the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history.

The inquiry chair, retired judge Sir Wyn Williams, said at least 59 people “contemplated suicide at various points in time” and “attributed this to their experiences with Horizon and/or the Post Office”.

He made the remarks in a report that laid bare the “disastrous human impact” for the 1,000-plus post office workers wrongly accused of taking money from their branches because of faulty software.

Sir Wyn said “bankruptcies had occurred” and “marriage and families have been wrecked” over the scandal, adding: “The picture which has emerged is profoundly disturbing.”

After the report was released, former subpostmistress Jo Hamilton, who was falsely prosecuted for a shortfall of £36,000 at her Post Office branch, said: “It shows the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us. We were just decent people trying to do a day’s work for our community.”

In a landmark moment for victims and their families, the 162-page report also found:

• A “real possibility” that 13 people had taken their own lives as a result of the suffering they endured during the scandal, while at least 59 had contemplated suicide

• 10,000 people are eligible to submit compensation claims over the scandal

• Post Office bosses should have known Horizon was faulty but “maintained the fiction that its data was always accurate” and engaged in “wholly unacceptable behaviour” towards victims

• Postmasters faced “egregious delays” receiving compensation, with many settling for less than they believed to be “full and fair redress”