Oldest Post Office victim from County Durham says the Horizon scandal 'destroyed' her life

  • Watch Chris Conway's report.

The oldest victim of the Post Office scandal has said that it has completely "destroyed" her life.

Betty Brown, 91, ran a Post Office branch in County Durham with her late husband, Oswall.

Problems began at the Annfield Plain branch, near Stanley, when the Horizon IT system was installed in 2000.

After this, the system regularly said it was £1,500 short.

It is estimated that Mrs Brown and her husband spent around £100,000 of their own money to cover the shortfalls.

"It was our life savings, my husband and I worked all our lives for," she said.

Betty and her husband Oswall used their retirement savings to cover the shortfalls presented on the Horizon system. Credit: Betty Brown

"I couldn't go to sleep, my body would be shaking, I was crying," she added.

Mrs Brown said that she was eventually forced out of her business by a Post Office manager.

The manager blamed her age for the financial losses at the branch, saying that she was "too old" and that they wanted "new blood who understood the technology."

"It destroyed my life, from being a happy person to being completely worried sick, it took everything away," Mrs Brown said.

In total, more than 900 sub-postmasters were convicted of fraud and theft. Credit: PA

Speaking about the justice she would like to receive, she said: "I would like them to go through what I've gone through for 23 years.

"I would like to see them stripped of all their big bonuses that they had took, all their large salaries they took."

Richard Holden MP represents her constituency in North West Durham. He has been calling for compensation and prosecution.

He said that he feels "emotionally protective" over Mrs Brown after hearing her story in 2020.

"I have huge respect for Betty as she is a huge fighter... she needs to see justice not only for her self, but for the others."

When asked why it has taken so long for this to materialise, he said: "Some of us who were close to people like Betty have been fighting their cause for a long time now.

"I think it's stories like Betty, who are real, normal people, which has touched people's hearts - and that's why the ITV drama cut through, people could see themselves or people they know in that position."

The Horizon software had first been developed by Fujitsu’s ICL business, and in 1999 was installed by the Post Office in its thousands of sites across the country.

However the Post Office went on to prosecute hundreds of sub-postmasters between 1999 and 2015, as it blamed them for financial discrepancies.

Earlier this month, plans were discussed to overturn the convictions of over 900 people linked to the scandal, with more than 4,000 being told they are eligible for compensation for their suffering.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said a new law would be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.

UK government was told Horizon was a 'disastrous project' almost 25 years ago

So far the Government has spent £138 million on compensating people who were wrongfully convicted, but Number 10 have confirmed victims would be eligible for an additional £75,000 upfront payment.

A public inquiry is underway to establish if anyone linked to the Post Office could be held responsible for the wrongful accusations.

The Post Office has said it is doing all it can to right the wrongs of the past.

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