A Barrister who helped get justice for hundreds of subpostmasters in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal has estimated the true total of people affected by the problem.
Between 1999 and 2015, Post Office workers were wrongly accused and convicted of fraud after Futjitsu's faulty tech system saw thousands of pounds go missing from stores across the UK.
Most subpostmasters were forced to pay back the missing money out of their own pockets, and some served jail time as a result.
Following a lengthy battle by the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA), some compensation was awarded to the victims, and convictions were quashed.
Post Office scandal victims have been campaigning for justice for many years
PA
In fresh demands from the British public and the JFSA for justice following a dramatisation by ITV's Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced new plans to see more justice served to the victims and their families.
This week, Rishi Sunak announced primary legislation to "swiftly exonerate and compensate" the subpostmasters and mistresses.
Making the announcement in the House of Commons, Sunak told MPs the scandal is "one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history", and those affected could be given compensation packages of up to £600,000.
Speaking to GB News, Barrister Patrick Green KC has revealed there may be thousands more needing compensation and justice, but many of the former Post Office workers have already passed away.
Green reflected on his "fantastic victories" with GB News host Nigel Farage, after securing a win for 550 Post Office scandal victims.
Green revealed that the government have announced an upfront payment of £75,000 for each of his clients, meaning "fair" compensation after so many years.
He said of Sunak's latest plan: "I think what's implied is they will then look at those cases in which further compensation is due up to a package of £600,000, depending on circumstances.
"I just want to see the actual detail."
Barrister Patrick Green KC says there could be up to 5000 victims of the Post Office scandal
GB News
Nigel Farage highlighted that many of the victims of the Post Office scandal are now "elderly", including many of Green's previous clients.
Green revealed: "There's quite a large number of them who've died already without seeing real justice. And in a way it's very sad that they didn't get to see the ITV docudrama and the public's reaction to it.
"From memory we had 555 claimants, and of those I think only 69 had been convicted. So if you do the maths, it could be about ten times that.
"I'm going to say four to five thousand people is not impossible."
Have you been affected by the Horizon IT scandal? If you'd like to share your story, get in touch with money@gbnews.uk.
