Sort It Out, Post Haste

The term post-haste derives from the time when mail carriers were urged to deliver the letters with speed and efficiency. UK stamps are the only ones in the world which do not have the country of origin printed on them. Because postage stamps were invented in the UK. Our postal service used to be second to none. Staff in the post offices worked really hard, especially in rural areas - the hours long, the pay not brilliant - and as well as Post Office stuff, many had to run the village shop as well. It is a quarter of a century since the Post Office decided to adopt new computer software. And many of those diligent workers noticed it had a glitch. Money seemed to disappear from accounts. But their concerns were fobbed off. The they were accused of theft. And those who protested their innocence, blaming faulty technology, were each told "No it must be you. Nobody else has these discrepancies."

Nearly one thousand people were convicted, imprisoned, lost everything - marriages, families, lives fell apart - sadly there were suicides and premature deaths. And the people at the top were given bonuses, and honours, and denied any error on their part.

Journalist Nick Wallis produced radio and TV programmes, wrote articles, and in 2021 published a book. He was desperate to make sure that the full story, the terrible miscarriage of justice, was fully publicised. The few convictions actually overturned, the appalling lack of repentance, lack of compensation, and lack of compassion. I talked to our village postmistress about the book last year. We discussed the number of villages now without a PO, because people are reluctant to take on the job. But it has taken a TV drama to make the British public fully aware. 

And it appears that until last week our government didn't seem to be aware either. Well now they know. 

And they can't shift all the blame onto Ed Davey, Keir Starmer or Fujitsu. They cannot pretend they were unaware of what has been happening, the suffering caused. No amount of cash can bring back the lost years, rebuild what has been destroyed - but innocent people need to have their names cleared, and support to rebuild their lives. NOW. Post haste.