Postmaster speaks of ordeal after Post Office scandal

Kevin Banks from Great Lever bought the Old Lane Post Office in Salford in 1997 with his wife Tracy, but as the new computer system Horizon was being installed, the sub-postmaster and his wife soon found themselves encountering losses.

The Horizon scandal saw more than 700 postmasters given criminal convictions from 1999 to 2015, after Fujitsu accounting software Horizon made it appear that money was missing, when it was not.

Many sub-postmasters were left thousands out of pocket trying to make the books balance and then accused of theft by the Post Office.

Mr Banks was still carrying out paper account checks which did not find errors despite Horizon pulling up many shortfalls which started with just £7.11 but increased each time leading to Mr Banks being accused of theft of £10k.

He said: “My paper accounts were still showing nothing was missing.

“One error showed £700, and the helpdesk said I had to put money into a holding account because this money would come back later, it never did.”

Later on, Mr Banks found he had £1500 more than on record and was told to put this money in the safe.

An audit was carried out and  Mr Banks was suspended after he said the Post Office claimed  shortfalls had been found in the accounts. The sale of the post office to a newsagents next door, was stopped.

In 2003-04, Mr Banks was in court after The Post Office, accussed him of theft of £10k.

Mr Banks said: “I lost my business, basically I lost everything and was found guilty, but my dad paid them £5k which prevented me from going to jail.

“I was also a Magistrate, but I lost this title as well.

“My wife became depressed and ill, she later fell down the stairs and became so ill, that she died, she had just lost the will to live.

“It was horrendous, and I was crying all the time.”

Mr Banks said he did not imagine he would lose in court, as he was sure the evidence would rule in his favour.

He said: It was horrible because I knew that I had not done anything wrong."

Mr Banks, now 66, said while he was thankful ITV’s show Mr Bates Vs The Post Office brought mass attention to the topic, he felt he could not watch it as it was too sensitive.

He said: “If anyone even mentions anything about this to me now, I just shut down."

Despite now receiving compensation with £78k awarded to Mr Banks which is to cover the costs of buying the post office, £20k of this has been deducted for tax.

On top of this, Mr Banks was awarded an extra £5k for ‘distress’ but says he has rejected this as the distress he says, is ongoing.

He said: “I was horrified because I knew I did not do anything, and I was gutted when I was suspended and taken to court.

“My wife died from it and my kids all suffered from it.

“I lost the love of my life, and we are all seriously damaged by it.

“I had to bring my kids up as mum and dad and I did not have a support system and had lost everything.”

Mr Banks not only lost his business, but his home, after the family no longer could live at their home address.

He said: “The Post Office ruined my life at the time, horrendously.

“I watched Magistrates who trained with me get MBE’s and OBE’s while I lost it all.

“I feel angry and feel we were vilified while real people involved may get away with it.

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“We had to sell the house and move and so I bought a pub eventually.

“People would look at us and I wanted to ask if I could help but I never did.

“I do not trust anyone anymore.”

Since the ordeal, Mr Banks has chosen to speak out about his experiences as a postmaster to draw more attention to the scandal.

An inquiry into the scandal is now underway.

A former top Post Office executive has claimed she forgot about an email in 2010 saying that cash balances in sub-postmasters’ branch accounts could be remotely accessed.

Angela van den Bogerd had earlier told the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry in central London on Thursday that she never “knowingly” did anything wrong in the scandal.

However, Ms van den Bogerd, played by Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, was asked if she had “airbrushed” from her mind the fact that Horizon developer Fujitsu had remote access to accounts.

A December 5 2010 email sent to her by Lynn Hobbs, the organisation’s general manager of network support, said she had “found out that Fujitsu can actually put an entry into a branch account remotely”.