Minister Kevin Hollinrake, the Government’s man in charge of the Post Office, revealed he cried twice while watching ITV’s hit drama portraying the sub-postmasters hit by the Horizon scandal.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Hollinrake has told how he watched Mr Bates vs The Post Office with his wife while Parliament was on recess. He says the couple were “both shocked” by the story.
“I think I cried more than she did,” he added.
The Tory minister said his tears started flowing during an emotional courtroom scene that saw Jo Hamilton – played by Monica Dolan – pleading guilty to false accounting after the Horizon system showed money owed on her account. Hollinrake says he also cried when the sub-postmasters won their historic High Court case.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office has sparked national anger after it told the story of more than 700 sub-postmasters convicted of fraud, theft, or false accounting due to a faulty IT system. It has been described as one of the largest miscarriages of justice in British history.
Hollinrake now wants to see the drama winning big at the BAFTAs with lead actor Toby Jones given a knighthood – after the real-life Alan Bates, who previously turned down an OBE in protest of Paual Vennells’ CBE for services to the Post Office.
Vennells has returned her CBE after a petition calling for it to be stripped from her suprassed a million signatures.
Hollinrake, who represents Thirsk and Malton, said: “Some people knew the scale of this, but not everybody recognised its depth and the impact on people’s lives. It was beautifully portrayed.”
Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were handed criminal convictions based off accounting figures showed by the Horizon software. Reports say the scandal led to bankruptcy, divorce, jail time, and even four suicides.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has now outlined a new law so that those affected can be “swiftly exonerated and compensated” with victims being automatically given a £75,000 payment. Those whose convictions are quashed by the new law would be eligible for at least £600,000 compensation.
It is thought the taxpayer will have to stump up £1.5 billion in the wake of the scandal, up from the original £1 billion Hollinrake set aside. This is party due to new victims coming forward after the ITV drama aired.
The politician has however backed calls for part of the bill to be paid for by Fujitsu, the company behind the controversial Horizon system. He says there should be a “conversation” after the end of an on-going public inquiry.
Hollinrake added: “We’ve got to be fair. I don’t believe in any kind of witch-hunt. There’s a joint responsibility here – including the Government as the only shareholder of the Post Office.”
Hollinrake says watching former Post Office Minister and Lib Dem leader Ed Davey refusing to apologise for the scandal during an interview with ITV was “painful”. He said: “I think we should all apologise”.
