400,000 people back former-West Boldon subpostmaster in campaign over Post Office Horizon IT scandal

A campaigning former sub-postmaster from the Sunderland area has won backing from more than 400,000 people over the Post Office Horizon row.

Chris Head spoke to the Echo after tens of thousands of people signed his online petition which calls for compensation and accountability.

Latest figures put the support at 408,000 signatures.

Hundreds were accused of fraud and theft

He said: "Lives were destroyed, businesses lost, homes repossessed, bankruptcies, false imprisonment, families destroyed, health issues and suicides, all down to a total cover up of the truth."

Mr Head ran the West Boldon Post Office from 2006-2015 from the age of just 18, and was among hundreds of sub-postmasters accused of fraud and theft by the Post Office over the last two decades.

Flaws in the IT system

Hundreds of postmasters suffered as a result of flaws in the Horizon IT system used by the Post Office.

The whole issue is back in the spotlight after the screening of the Mr Bates vs The Post Office drama series.

Mr Head said: "It has taken a TV drama to make the politicians sweat under the collar.

Stress, suffering and trauma

"Until you see the TV programme, the stress, suffering, trauma. Only then can a member of the public understand what they went through and I think that is what has hit home.

"It helps that the programme had a fantastic cast."

Speaking about the scandal, he said thousands of lives had been 'trashed' and added: "I wish that it had been sorted out years ago so that we didn't have to go through that."

Dozens have come forward since the TV show was aired

Mr Head was quizzed under caution over the supposed disappearance of £88,000 before the investigation was dropped without charge.

Plans to clear the names of hundreds of Post Office branch managers wrongly convicted in the Horizon IT scandal were expected to be announced "imminently".

Rishi Sunak was under pressure to set out how the Government will exonerate hundreds of subpostmasters accused of swindling money as a result of the flawed computer system.

The Government says compensation has been paid to more than 2,700 claimants, but hundreds were also prosecuted over shortfalls in their branches caused by software errors.

Widespread miscarriage of justice

Another 130 people have come forward after the ITV show dramatised what has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history, postal services minister Kevin Hollinrake said today.

Mr Hollinrake said the Government is "very, very close" to announcing its plans to override the convictions, with an announcement "possibly" coming as soon as this afternoon.

Mr Head's petition adds: "We are  now calling on this government to provide ALL victims of this scandal with the FULL and FAIR compensation they are entitled to. 

"This involves ensuring that all those affected are returned to the position they would have been in had they not encountered the Horizon scandal and compensated for the pain, trauma and suffering they have gone through including their families."