'We’re not trying to grab the limelight': How two unsung heroes helped uncover the Horizon scandal

Kay Linnell and Barbara Jeremiah told ITV News their support for the sub-postmasters was a "hobby that got out of hand"

Words by Isabel Alderson-Blench

It’s been almost a year since the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office aired, and its overnight success catapulted many of the starring characters into the limelight.

The real people behind the characters became household names and regular fixtures on our screens.

But some, like forensic accountant Kay Linnell and her business partner Barbara Jeremiah, preferred to fly under the radar.

Featured in the drama “rolled together as one character”, Barbara said, the duo are long-term supporters of and advisors to the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, and despite their aversion to personal publicity, the two women were instrumental in helping to bring the Horizon scandal to light.

In their first on-camera interview, they tell us how it all began.

“It all started with Barbara,” Kay said.

“Because Jo Hamilton is our local sub-postmistress and Barbara used to buy lunch on the way to work from Jo."

Barbara was there when Jo began suffering shortfalls on Horizon.

“I found Jo increasingly agitated when her Horizon system was doubling and doubling and doubling,” said Barbara.

When Jo was convicted in 2007, Barbara and other members of the small Hampshire village where Jo’s Post Office was, never believed Jo could have been guilty, and immediately supported her.

“It took me a couple of years to convince [Kay] that we needed a forensic accountant,” Barbara said. But eventually, Kay agreed, and they both became advisors to the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance (JFSA), the campaign group set up by Sir Alan Bates.

They have also worked alongside Second Sight Investigators Ron Warmington and Ian Henderson since 2012, when Second Sight were appointed by the Post Office to look into potential issues with the Horizon system.

Throughout, their support for the sub-postmasters has never wavered.

“It’s their story,” Kay told us. “We’re the support behind them. The message is their story, it’s not ours. We’re not trying to grab the limelight.”

Kay and Barbara both know where their skills lie.

“We’re quite good at finding the numbers,” Kay said.

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

So, what made them want to finally speak publicly about the scandal? As always, it comes back to the sub-postmasters.

“I hope it helps them get their money.” Kay said.

Money which, in their view, is coming far too late.

“Of the 555 [sub-postmasters who were part of the Mr Bates vs the Post Office group litigation], 64 have died without any redress at all,” Barbara said.

“You can’t imagine the stories they’ve been through…they are fighting for justice,” Barbara said.

What sub-postmasters have been through is “amazingly awful” and there is an “underlying anger at the maltreatment,” Kay added.

The fight for full and fair compensation continues. As of September 2024, compensation offers had been made to less than half of the GLO group of 555 sub-postmasters.

Kay and Barbara’s support for the sub-postmasters is unwavering.

“They know they can ring up our office and we will never turn any of them away,” Kay told us.

Given the extraordinary amount of time that the duo have spent working with the JFSA, how has their involvement affected their professional life?

“It’s a hobby that has got out of hand,” Kay laughs.

Aside from financial redress, Kay and Barbara are determined to hold those responsible for Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice accountable.

“The thing we’d very much like to do is find out whose neglect this happened under and make sure they face the same consequences they put the sub-postmasters through,” Kay said.

Of potential criminal charges, she added: “The Metropolitan Police are waiting with some names on their books."

Ultimately, what matters the most to these two women, who have been with the sub-postmasters in their decades-long fight to be heard, is justice.

With their determination to see the pursuit of justice to the very end, the duo won’t be giving up their "hobby" any time soon.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...