The real Horizon victims portrayed in Mr Bates vs The Post Office
The story of the miscarriage of justice committed against innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses has left the nation glued to its television screens and reignited intense debate surrounding the Post Office scandal.
More than nine million viewers have tuned in to Mr Bates vs the Post Office, making it ITV’s most successful new drama in three years, showing how hundreds were wrongly prosecuted because of faulty Horizon software.
Driven to financial and reputational ruin, the plight of hundreds of men and women running the country’s Post Office branches is now regarded as the greatest miscarriage of justice in British history.
On Tuesday, Paula Vennells, the disgraced former Post Office chief, bowed to pressure to hand back her CBE amid a backlash over her role in the scandal as ministers scramble to grip the narrative.
Here we look at the individuals at the centre of the ITV drama credited with galvanising the UK behind the victims.
Alan Bates played by Toby Jones
The former sub-postmaster is credited with inspiring the ITV drama after taking a defiant stance against the Post Office over its faulty Horizon software.
Now 69, Mr Bates and his long-term partner Suzanne Sercombe reportedly used their life savings to purchase their branch in Llandudno in 1998 before their contract was terminated in 2003 when he refused to accept liability for missing cash.
In 2004, he wrote to Computer Weekly, a magazine for IT professionals, about his concerns. This led to the first investigation into Horizon published five years later.
He then led a campaign of hundreds of sub-postmasters and postmistresses, culminating in a successful High Court case in 2019 after it was ruled the software was faulty. More than 90 convictions have since been overturned in what is described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.
Widely praised for his dogged determination, Mr Bates, along with Ms Sercombe, was given an all-expenses paid holiday by Richard Branson to his private Necker Island after they appeared on ITV’s This Morning on Monday.
Mr Bates helped secure compensation for hundreds of sub-postmasters but said last week financial redress “should not be forgotten” as up to 70 victims had died without receiving any sum.
Lee Castleton played by Will Mellor
The former RAF serviceman was made bankrupt by the Post Office following a two-year legal battle soon after opening his branch in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, with his wife Lisa.
Mr Castleton was taken to the High Court by the Post Office after he was wrongfully accused of taking £25,000 after Horizon caused his unexplained losses to spiral.
Representing himself in court, the now 54-year-old lost the case and was ordered to pay back costs of £321,000 which forced him to declare bankruptcy.
The Castletons say the legal action forced them to close their branch, sell their home and become ostracised by the community. The couple’s two children were bullied with their father accused of stealing pensions from “little old ladies”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Castleton described the battle to get compensation following the scandal as “like a war”.
Mr Castleton is yet to receive any financial compensation.
Jo Hamilton played by Monica Dolan
The former sub-postmaster began working at her branch in South Warnborough, Hampshire, in 2001 but ran into financial difficulties two years later because of the Horizon software.
After she was presented with inaccurate shortfalls, the now 66-year-old attempted to pay the money back from her own pocket which saw her remortgage her home and run up debts.
She was fired in 2006 when unexplained losses began to spiral and was eventually charged with theft of more than £36,000 which she said led to both her parents suffering a stroke.
In 2008, she pleaded guilty to false accounting for fear of going to prison but her conviction was quashed in 2021 after she was found to be a victim of the Horizon scandal.
Speaking to the Basingstoke Gazette last week ahead, she said: “I don’t think people realise the scale of what they did. It’s depraved.”
Ms Hamilton has received her interim compensation, reported to be a “big chunk” of £163,000.
Noel Thomas played by Ifan Huw Dafydd
The former sub-postmaster from Anglesey had worked for the Post Office since the 1960s but was forced to spend his 60th birthday behind bars after he was wrongly accused of stealing from his branch.
The now 77-year-old was jailed for nine months after he was investigated over a £48,000 discrepancy which saw him disqualified as a councillor, while his daughter was forced to sell her home to cover his legal costs.
His conviction for false accounting was overturned in 2021.
Speaking about the ITV drama, Mr Thomas told the BBC: “I think it’s going to bring it home for a lot of people. We’ve been a small unit of about 500 of us but it hasn’t really got out there until now, and hopefully this programme will get to reach more viewers.
“It’s been 18 years for me and it’s been hell for a lot of people.”
Mr Thomas has received interim compensation but may be owed more. Last week he said: “I might never see [full compensation] because a lot of my friends have gone. A lot of people I met from this process have passed away.”
Saman Kaur played by Krupa Pattani
The character of Saman was based on Jess Kaur, a former postmistress from Walsall who suffered a mental breakdown after she was accused of stealing £11,000 from her own branch.
After insisting she had done nothing wrong, Ms Kaur said she was told to plead guilty so she could return to work the next day after being told she was the only one it had happened to.
Ms Kaur was accused of 36 counts of theft which she said led her to attempt to take her own life before she was admitted to hospital for six months. In 2009, the charges against her were dropped.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Kaur said that while her ordeal “ruined” her she was pleased it features in the ITV drama.
She added: “Everybody’s story is different. There’s people that have died, people are still seriously ill and compensation and closure is just not coming to an end - we just want closure on everything and to carry on with our lives.”
Ms Kaur is yet to receive any financial compensation.
Martin Griffiths played by Colin Tierney
The sub-postmaster took his own life in 2013 after the Post Office pursued him for £100,000.
The 59-year-old has successfully run his branch in Great Sutton, Cheshire, for 14 years before Horizon appeared to show cash going missing in 2009.
He spent the next four years repaying the discrepancy with his own money as his mental health deteriorated. In September 2013, he walked in front of a bus after leaving a note for his family.
His sister Jayne Caveen said senior Post Office staff, as well as Fujitsu, the Japanese firm which made Horizon, have “blood on their hands” following her brother’s death.
Speaking to The Times, she said: “I can’t move on with my life without these bitter feelings and deep sadness until they are behind bars.”
