A former Bolton sub-postmaster has told of the heartbreaking impact the Post Office scandal has had on his life as a new ITV series dramatizes what has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.
Over the course of 14 years, more than 700 Post Office sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of – and some convicted of and even imprisoned for – theft, fraud and false accounting in their branches.
These accusations and prosecutions destroyed the lives of the innocent sub-postmasters who had to endure court trials, public humiliation, and huge personal financial losses, with the Post Office refusing to entertain the idea that the fault was with a new computer accounting system used in branches nationwide rather than with its staff.
A public inquiry into the scandal is ongoing with the scandal now the subject of new ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.
Mohammed Amir from Bolton was among the sub-postmasters affected, with the experience having a life-changing impact.
He has now left the Post Office business.
Mr Amir ran the Little Lever Post Office in April 2004 until 2022.
He was also the sub-postmaster of a Farnworth Post Office from 2007 to 2015 and ran a Post Office in Eccles.
Mr Amir told The Bolton News: “I encourage people to watch the show and learn about the biggest miscarriage of justice in British History to sub-postmasters.
“This stress caused me to have a heart attack at the age of 33, just six months after I bought my third office.
“This had a big impact on my everyday life, it was very stressful trying to cover the losses.”
He added: “I am very angry at the Post Office and at the way they have treated me.
“It is appalling that this is a government establishment and we have only made it to this point now after all the noise that has been made in the last 20 years.
“The Post Office has ruined my life.”
Mr Amir said he experienced issues when money stock counts did not match those of the digital accounting system, Horizon.
Contractually obliged to pay back the “losses” from their own pockets, many of those caught up in the scandal lost vast amounts of money due to a flaw in the Horizon accounting IT system.
Mr Amir spoke at the inquiry in 2022 about the impact the ordeal had on his life after he noticed the computer highlight accounting issues at the Little Lever Post Office.
Also read: Bolton postmaster gives evidence to inquiry into Post Office scandal
Julie Hesmondhalgh opens up about Mr Bates vs The Post Office
He said the helpline had provided little support during this time and throughout his time at the branches, paid in excess of £130,000.
He told the inquiry: “All three branches experienced shortfalls regularly.
“Most often, these were in shortfalls of £300-£400 each time and this occurred approximately four times per year.
“I would usually settle these straight away using my own cash.
Mr Amir said at the inquiry he experienced shortfalls of £2,000 in some cases and had to use his overdraft to repay the money as well as borrow from family and friends.
He said: “I took up these issues with the Post Office and suggested that there were problems with Horizon.
“I was told that Horizon was spot on and could not make mistakes.
“I suspected problems with Horizon because of the fact these problems occurred at all three branches, so I knew it was highly unlikely that staff were stealing money from each branch.”
To test the system, he revealed to the inquiry that he would print off a sales report receipt then reprint one five minutes later which showed different figures even though no transactions took place in-between printing.
Eventually, the stress became too much for him and he decided to leave his position at the post offices.
He said: “The pressure from the post office forcing me to repay alleged shortfalls became too much and my health started to deteriorate.
“As a result, I resigned from my position at two of my branches, and sold my branches due to my ill health, caused by the Post Office.
“I therefore lost the future income of these businesses, but I simply could not risk continuing due to the shortfalls and threats of the Post Office.
Mr Amir said the ordeal has taken a toll on his mental health and he can no longer do the things he used to do.
He said: “My mental health and struggle with depression leaves me unable to involve myself in the active running of the post office.
“This stress caused me to have a heart attack at the age of 33, just six months after I bought my third office.
“This had a big impact on my everyday life, it was very stressful trying to cover the losses.
“My salary wasn’t big enough to cover them, I sought help from family and friends and even then, I ended up maxing out my credit cards which I am still paying off today.”
Mr Amir has not been eligible for a big compensation and is excluded from the historic shortfall scheme.
He said: “I used to be a regular snooker player and I enjoyed sports, but I have stopped everything completely now.
“I spent most of my time at home, I lost my friends, and I no longer had a social life.
“My Post Offices were situated in my local area where I lived, I was very well known in the community, there was no escaping the situation, it was constant.
“All of my relationships suffered and mine and my family’s reputation was damaged.
“As the news spread in our local community of monies going missing from the post office, we were accused of dishonesty are theft.”
Mr Amir’s life was gravely impacted by the accusations, and he is unable to socialise as normal.
He said: “I am very angry at the Post Office and at the way they have treated me.
“It is appalling that this is a government establishment and we have only made it to this point now after all the noise that has been made in the last 20 years.
“The post office has ruined my life.”
He believes an apology and compensation was due to all the postmasters wrongly accused of fraud and theft.
Calls for a former Post Office boss to lose her CBE over her involvement in the Horizon scandal are separate from Government, the Prime Minister has said.
Asked by broadcasters whether Paula Vennells should have the honour removed, Rishi Sunak said: “There’s an independent process for honours forfeiture, which is done by an independent committee, so that’s a separate process from government.
“But, more generally, my job is to make sure that we’re putting in place the compensation schemes and all those people who were awfully treated, suffered an appalling miscarriage of justice, get the justice that they deserve, and that’s what we’re delivering.
“I’m pleased we’re delivering that and I’d urge anyone affected to come forward and make sure that they can benefit from those schemes.”
Mr Bates V The Post Office is available as a four-part series on ITV with actor Toby Jones playing the sub postmaster Alan Bates.
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