Over 5,000 sub-postmasters may be due compensation after being caught up in the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, a barrister who has represented hundreds of victims has said.
Patrick Green KC, who secured a victory against the Post Office for 550 postmasters in 2019, said the true number of people who are due compensation may be ten times that number.
He told GB News: “They were massively intimidated. Indeed, in the litigation, one of the things we pleaded was they were put under economic duress.
“But then just in terms of numbers, I think it could be more really, because I think from memory, we had 555 clients, claimants, and of those I think only 69 had been convicted. So if you do the math, it could be about ten times 500, it could be something [like] 4,000 or 5,000, not impossible.
“Some of those may have smaller losses, but being forced to cash in your ISA and stuff that money into the till when you've done nothing wrong…”
In a discussion with Nigel Farage, he continued: “What a normal company would have had to do is say, ‘right, I'm going to sue you in the County Court or the High Court. It'll be a civil case, you'll either win or you lose. If you lose, you just have to pay the money and some costs’.
“They didn't do that. They used their prosecutorial powers and said ‘I’m prosecuting for theft’. You're like ‘well, I've never stolen anything’ and then you’re obviously terrified you're going to jail.”
“Because if you steal from your employer, which is analogous to this, you go to jail, and then at the door of the court, they would say, ‘well, actually, if you admit false accounting, you won't go to jail’.
“So these people were like, completely terrified...it’s heartbreaking when you talk to the actual people who were forced into that position.”
He added: “It was a massive battle. It was unbelievable, huge. We felt that we were completely outgunned because the Post Office effectively had an unlimited budget and we really didn't.”
Have you been affected by the Horizon IT scandal? If you'd like to share your story, get in touch with money@gbnews.uk.
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