Former East Yorkshire sub-postmaster tried to take his own life over Horizon IT scandal

A former sub-postmaster from Goole says he tried to take his own life when he was wrongly accused of stealing £32,000 from the Post Office.

Gary Brown was one of hundreds of sub-postmasters and mistresses accused of theft, fraud and false accounting because of a faulty IT system, with some being jailed.

Mr Brown said it was "terrifying" when he began to notice that his takings were hundreds – then thousands – of pounds down in 2008.

He said: "I felt ashamed. I felt embarrassed and there was nobody I could turn to.

"On Wednesdays when I had to balance the books I was  physically sick, frightened of what I was going to find."

Mr Brown was interviewed by investigators from the Post Office and told to sell his home to pay the money back or face two years in jail.

His wife Maureen told him she would serve the prison sentence herself: "I said, look, I'll say I've done it - a women's prison isn't as bad as a men's prison.

"I just knew he just couldn't have coped. "

Janet Skinner had her conviction over turned by the High Court last year. Credit: PA

'People need to go to prison'

Janet Skinner from Hull was one of the postmasters who was sent to prison as a result of the scandal.

She was jailed for nine months in 2007 after accounts at her post office in Bransholme revealed a £59,000 black hole, she had her conviction overturned at the High Court last year.

She's told ITV News that the public inquiry won't take away the "devastation" caused by the scandal.

She said: "It brings back the day that I went to jail the day that I left my kids behind the life that I had to rebuild the home that we lost it just brings back everything."

She wants people to be held accountable for the pain and suffering that the criminal convictions of postmasters caused.

"People need to go to jail. I went to jail. A lot of others went to jail and people need to be held to account for what they've done wrong," she said.

She added: "What they don't realise is the devastation they've caused to people's lives they've absolutely destroyed people and to be able to sit still and say we're sorry we're trying to move forward it's not moving forward for us.

"No amount of money ever will take away them memories that we've got inside. We've got a life sentence and it's a life sentence that they've caused."

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2,000 still awaiting compensation

Between 2007 and 2014, 736 post office workers were prosecuted for false accounting fraud and theft. 

Campaigners proved that the losses were down to the flawed Horizon IT system which made it look as though money was missing.

In December 2019, the Post Office settled 555 civil claims. More than 70 criminal convictions have been overturned but around 2000 are still awaiting compensation. 

The Post Office said in a statement: "The Post Office is sincerely sorry for the impact of the Horizon scandal on the lives of victims and their families and we are in no doubt about the human cost.

"The Inquiry’s hearings enable many of those who were most deeply affected by Post Office’s past failings to voice their experiences and their testimonies must and will ensure all lessons are learned so that such events can never happen again.

"In addressing the past, our first priority is that full, fair and final compensation is provided and we are making good progress."