Readers give £100,000 for battle against Post Office
THE campaign by subpostmasters to launch a legal battle against the Government after being falsely accused of theft has raised more than £100,000 following support from the Sunday Express.
The money poured in after we wrote about the harrowing ordeal of postmistress Sue Knight, 65, who lost her shop, her savings and ended up homeless.
A computer glitch left her one of 555 subpostmasters in a 10-year legal battle due to a problem in the Post Office’s new Horizon IT system.
The problems sparked a wave of false accusations of theft, fraud and false accounting against subpostmasters.
Some were even left bankrupt in a scandal that have been described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history.
Last year, the Post Office paid out £57million to settle the case but only £11.5million has made it into the hands of those claiming the cash through the action.
The situation meant that those affected by the Post Office’s actions have only on average recovered around five per cent of their losses.
The current Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance battle hopes to cover legal costs to ensure victims can be properly compensated. The new funding means that the crusade can make great strides forward in taking its case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, claiming maladministration against the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Alan Bates, founder of the JFSA, thanked the Sunday Express in backing its battle and said: “We are very grateful for all the media support that helped us succeed in raising the funds to enable the group to carry on seeking the justice and redress they so deserve.
“The funds raised will help us rescue the truth rather than bury it.”