Post Office scandal victim feels 'survivor's guilt' after compensation

Former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton says she feels "survivor's guilt" after settling with the Post Office over the Horizon IT scandal for an undisclosed sum.

Ms Hamilton said the settlement would pay off her mortgage and debts, but she got less than she had hoped for.

She said she and her husband accepted the offer as they were "exhausted".

Her story was one of the central strands in the ITV dramatisation which put a fresh spotlight on the scandal.

The mother-of-two was prosecuted for a shortfall of £36,000 at her Post Office in South Warnborough, Hampshire in 2006 and was persuaded to plead guilty to a charge of false accounting.

She took up cleaning jobs, had to mortgage her house twice, borrowed money from friends, and received donations from the local community to pay back the funds.

Her conviction was overturned in 2021 when it was discovered that more than 700 sub-postmasters and postmistresses had been prosecuted because of a faulty accounting system.

Ms Hamilton - who was played by Monica Dolan in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office - said she had "mixed feelings" at accepting the compensation offer.

"I almost feel like I've got survivor's guilt, because many of my colleagues that I've fought alongside in court, they haven't been settled," she said.

But she said her was husband was getting older and she didn't want him to go into his eighties still waiting for money.

"While I didn't want to walk away, we were just tired. We had debt around our ears and a large mortgage, all of which has gone now. I think it was the right thing to do."

Ms Hamilton got 80% of what she wanted, she said.

She added the feeling when her debt disappeared was "just incredible".

However, she said her claim was reasonable, and the Post Office "shouldn't be arguing with anybody", especially as that hikes up legal fees that could be spent on compensation.

"Why can't they just pay people?" she said.

She began negotiating with the Post Office in 2021, but was initially offered only 20% of what she wanted.

She received the last compensation payment about five weeks ago.

Ministers have vowed to speed up compensation for the victims, with new measures announced last week.

As of 1 February 2024, approximately £160m had been paid to more than 2,700 claimants across three compensation schemes, according to government data.

The Department for Business and Trade said the government is "working as fast as possible to get compensation to every single postmistress and postmaster caught up in this injustice".

Last week, ministers announced new measures to speed up compensation for victims.

An interim payment of £450,000 will be available to sub-postmasters who had convictions overturned, up from the current level of £163,000.

In addition, legislation to clear sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted is expected to be brought forward within weeks.

Jo Hamilton appeared at the Brit Awards last week, and was joined by Monica Dolan.

On stage at the ceremony, she called for compensation to be sped up for those wrongfully prosecuted.

She told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday that Ms Dolan was "just wonderful".

"Not only is she a brilliant actress, she's a lovely person," she said.

Appearing at the Brits was "probably as scary as being in Crown Court, almost," she said.

"To walk along that landing, with all those people in the hall [was scary]," she said. "But seriously, when I got to the podium at the end, I didn't realise I was going to be met with the applause that I was. I really do believe the country is behind us."

Meanwhile, a row between the government and former Post Office chair Henry Staunton deepened on Tuesday.

He accused the government of using the Post Office as a "fig leaf" to avoid promptly paying compensation to sub-postmasters.

However, the government responded by saying Mr Staunton was "trying to deflect from his terrible tenure as chair of the Post Office".

As part of a series of letters published by the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday, Mr Staunton also alleged an investigation into chief executive Nick Read was about bullying.

A letter from Ben Tidswell, a Post Office director, did not deny this, but pointed out the investigation was wider.

A spokesman for the Post Office said there were "inaccuracies and falsehoods" in Mr Staunton's claims.

"The investigation remains ongoing, and nobody should be drawing any conclusions at this stage," he added.