Original subtitles

The computer system Post Office spent an arm and a leg on is faulty.

We're ready to mount and fund an independent review.

Angela, nice to meet you. Here to help.

We are hearing from Bob that your organisation

has been obstructive to his independent work.

But this is about the reputation of the Post Office.

You are the Chief Executive, so the buck stops with you.

Blood on their hands now.

I am told that people are walking out

of their mediation meetings.

Our lawyers advised that no mediation scheme

Our lawyers advised that no mediation scheme

has the power to overturn a criminal conviction.

You have broken your words to Parliament.

They say there's no remote access to branch accounts,

but they're lying.

There was a whole room full of us inside Fujitsu

doing thousands of corrections on Horizon

while the postmasters slept.

It may be possible to raise the money

to fight them in court, but only if there are enough of you.

How many would you need? At least 500.

I can do that.

'Hard to believe it's eight years since our first meeting.'

Even harder to believe that finally,

555 of us now,

ready to tell our stories to a court.

ready to tell our stories to a court.

That's all fine and dandy, Alan, but...

how are we gonna pay for it?

Er, well, James is the expert.

Er, there are a few specialist funders

who are prepared to take on this kind of risk.

If we win, we pay them back out of your compensation.

If we lose, please?

Well, then they lose too. Their entire investment.

It is high risk.

It is high risk.

Win or lose, it costs a fortune.

And there's no guarantee we'll ever see a penny.

And I... I want to make it clear

that there are a few other things this group litigation

is not going to do for us.

I'm sorry, Jo.

Sorry, Noel.

But it's not going to overturn any criminal convictions.

It's not going to discharge anyone's bankruptcies.

It's not going to discharge anyone's bankruptcies.

One day.

It's not going to... to get back any house repossessions,

and it's not going to repair anyone's shattered health.

Or bring back those we've lost.

Well, also, er...

I've got to say, there's a few of us here

who've not much faith in the law after everything that's happened.

Believe in British justice, that's what they say.

Well...

I-I've told you all the things the law's not going to do for us,

I-I've told you all the things the law's not going to do for us,

but I want you to think about... what brought us together.

All those things that we've been fighting for ever since.

Compensation.

Bigger than that.

Justice.

Bigger.

The truth?

CHUCKLES

Exactly.

Exactly.

Yes, compensation. Yes, justice, but...

without the truth, we can't do either of those.

Going to law will force the Post Office to open their files,

so, finally, we'll get to know everything the Post Office knows.

The truth.

The whole truth.

All those in favour?

Motion carried.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

CHEERING INTENSIFIES

Yes, it's true that the Post Office

will now have to give us everything they've got,

but it's also true that in fights like this,

the side with more money usually wins.

Unless... something extraordinary happens.

Unless... something extraordinary happens.

Our whole case is something extraordinary.

Yes. Yes, it is, I couldn't agree more.

And what's very striking is how...

many... people...

rang that helpline and were told, "You're the only one."

I asked to see if that phrase was in the helpline scripts,

and the Post Office said, "There are no scripts."

Yeah, and anyone who's run a helpline

knows they parrot a script, so it's clearly a lie.

So what happened to the principle of "give us everything you've got"?

So what happened to the principle of "give us everything you've got"?

Well, whatever we ask them to disclose,

they either say the record doesn't exist, or it's not relevant,

and whatever documents they do provide

are often pretty much redacted to death.

Yes, I get the sense that none of this

is coming as news to Mr Bates.

Welcome to my world. ALAN CHUCKLES

JO: The price of everything!

I went looking for a dress, but all I could afford is a scarf.

Yeah, love. Love, listen to me. Er...

Did your mum tell you that she had a doctor's appointment?

No.

She...

You'd better go and speak to her. She's inside.

I got a new scarf... for the court hearing.

Do you wanna see?

I'm sorry, love. I know you don't need this.

Don't need what?

Don't need what?

I've got cancer, love.

In a place I didn't even know was a place.

Pancreas.

Does it hurt?

Well...

JO SOBS Oh, God.

The look on that doctor's face...

It was me offering him the Kleenex.

He wouldn't tell me how long I'd got, but, well...

He wouldn't tell me how long I'd got, but, well...

INHALES DEEPLY

Not long. Come on.

Don't you worry about me. You've got your case to think about.

Oh, I don't care about any of that!

Promise me, on my life, you'll see it through.

Promise me, Jo, you won't rest

Promise me, Jo, you won't rest

till the world sees the innocent babe I held in my arms!

I promise.

I promise, Mum.

THEY CRY

ALAN: Sorry for your loss, Jo.

Five days, we had together.

Five more days on this Earth... and my lovely mum was gone.

Five more days on this Earth... and my lovely mum was gone.

You really didn't need to come today.

No, I made her a promise.

But she's not even buried yet,

so don't ask me what just happened in there.

Well, there could be five separate trials, but...

they're going to make us wait another year

before they even start the first one.

And you won't get called as a witness, Jo.

They won't call anyone who's got a criminal conviction.

They won't call anyone who's got a criminal conviction.

Well, I'll still come every day to support you.

Bates and Others versus the Post Office.

I'll be "Others".

I told our lawyers, I said,

"All right, you can put my name on the tin if you want to,

"but that doesn't mean you have to put me in the witness box.

"Choose the best people."

Alan...

you ARE the best people.

PATRICK: 'So, listen to this.

'Three years ago, Paula Vennells wrote...'

Is it possible to access the system remotely or not?

"We are told it is,"

and Paula then asks her managers, "What is the true answer?"

"I need to say, 'No, it is not possible

" 'and that we are sure of this because of X, X, X.'

"I need the facts."

Wow, OK.

That is an email of Paula's that arrived this morning

in a disclosure bundle, and it wasn't even redacted.

in a disclosure bundle, and it wasn't even redacted.

Well, this is... this is fundamental.

If we can prove they have remote access to your computers,

then, I mean, that means all the criminal convictions are unsafe.

Look forward to hearing you ask her about that in court, Patrick.

Unfortunately, the Post Office also sent across

their final list of witnesses this morning, and...

Paula Vennells is not on it.

Ha! Brilliant (!)

What? What's she worried about? That is a very strange decision.

Who are they putting up instead?

Er, the Peoples Services Director...

Er, the Peoples Services Director...

Angela van den Bogerd, yes.

She's had more job titles than hot dinners.

She's like a stick of Blackpool rock

with "Post Office" written all the way through.

And she's a hard-faced cow.

Excellent. Tell us how you really feel about her (!)

Ha! Well, who am I? No, no, Alan. Wait, wait, wait.

There is a possibility that Patrick

can still question Angela on remote access.

Er, where is it? This is from Angela's witness statement.

"Sub-postmasters are solely responsible

"Sub-postmasters are solely responsible

"for their branch accounts.

"There is no transaction that enters their accounts

"without their consent."

Well, that's just not true.

And we know a man who can prove it.

What, you've got a whistleblower?

You'd be right inside, looking at some postmaster's screen.

You could tell if he was busy, you could see him selling his stamps.

Remote access? Sometimes.

Not often.

We'd go in using the postmaster's ID,

We'd go in using the postmaster's ID,

find the cause of his problems, fix it, come back out.

He'd never even know.

What, so, it would look like... like he'd made the changes himself?

Yeah.

Richard, what if you couldn't fix it?

What if you... couldn't find a cause?

I don't know. The postmaster took the blame?

I can't remember much detail.

I can't remember much detail.

And like I said to Alan, I'm not prepared to go to court

or stick my neck out in any way whatsoever.

Sure, sure.

No, no, it's not just that Richard is too shy to give evidence.

He's got no evidence to give, no documents, no email.

Alternatives? No, we really need him.

He's still the only Fujitsu insider to ever come forward.

I meant ties. Oh. Er...

Oh, maroon or maroon. Hm?

Oh, maroon or maroon. Hm?

SUZANNE CHUCKLES

Oh, I'm not even gonna ask.

One thing I took from the Select Committee

is it really helps to use your face.

You know, confused, sceptical, amused.

THEY CHUCKLE

And that's your masterplan for the group litigation,

make faces at the Post Office?

555 sub-postmasters in our group,

and I have to go on first.

and I have to go on first.

I do solemnly and sincerely and truly declare and affirm

that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Good morning, Mr Bates.

Mr Bates, would it be right to say that in terms of due diligence,

you are quite a careful man?

Is that fair? You're a details man.

Yes.

At paragraph 15 of your witness statement,

you refer to being sent an information sheet.

"The subpostmaster is personally responsible

"for all losses or gains incurred to Post Office cash or stock."

You were aware you would be responsible for that loss,

however large it was.

At the time we took over the post office,

losses weren't a major concern.

The original deficit of £1,182...

that is a staff error, isn't it?

No.

No, that was, er...

that was definitely Horizon, from my point of view.

Without a shadow of a doubt.

You've got it in your mind it was Horizon,

You've got it in your mind it was Horizon,

and forevermore, it has been Horizon.

No. Well, it jumped out.

The errors jumped out.

They couldn't have been anything else.

I put to you generally that the overwhelming likelihood

is that these deficits were most likely caused by error

or wrongdoing in your branch by you or your staff.

That is the Post Office case.

Mr Bates, that is being put to you

so that you can tell me what the answer is.

No, My Lord.

No.

No further questions. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr Bates. You are excused.

"A details man". Might use that at home.

Alan did OK, I think. Just so glad he went first.

DISTANT: You're gonna be brilliant.

I took over Barking Post Office when my husband died

on August 3rd, 1999.

So some 19-odd years ago. Mm.

It's fair to say your memory of the details

is probably pretty vague.

Is that fair? No, I don't think so.

Not particularly stunning events, are they,

like a car crash or something - is that fair?

If you are talking about August 1999,

If you are talking about August 1999,

then, yes, they are very similar to a car crash.

You are talking about your husband's death?

Yes.

Yes, I... I accept that.

Moving, then, forward to your suspension

following the £18,000-odd deficit found on the audit.

Well, I was staggered that I was suspended.

Absolutely staggered.

Absolutely staggered.

I was probably as angry and upset as I have ever been in my life.

Because, for the last six months, I had been asking Post Office

to help me find the source for these alleged shortfalls

in order that I could...

How can I put it?

..that it would stop me from bombarding them

with phone calls, letters.

A lot of people might think,

"Well, I've received this letter. Let's look at my contract."

Let's look at section 19, paragraph four,

Let's look at section 19, paragraph four,

and see whether they are entitled to.

Well, I couldn't do that.

I had no entry to my post office

from the day they did the closing audit.

They took the keys away and locked them up.

But my point is, you immediately blame it on Horizon

without really casting your mind as to other possibilities.

I dispute that completely.

I never used to be an angry person.

And it really works, doesn't it? I wouldn't know, I don't get angry.

And it really works, doesn't it? I wouldn't know, I don't get angry.

Oh, well, I should give it a go, Alan.

Otherwise, the stress of all this might end up killing you.

ALAN CHUCKLES

Well, the Post Office chose three witnesses,

and we chose three witnesses.

The Post Office has read 555 postmaster statements.

Why they chose me?

So, they chose Mohammad Sabir

because he has an accountancy qualification.

So just watch them try to make him look stupid as well as dishonest.

Do you accept from me

that being involved over a period of years

that being involved over a period of years

as an assistant accountant

means that I can consider you as not commercially naive?

I did not understand your question, please.

Rephrase it, Mr Wentworth.

As at the time you applied to Post Office, yes,

you were not commercially naive?

My Lord, English is not my first language.

You had experience of commercial things.

You had experience of commercial things.

You weren't...

It's put me on the spot, trying to rephrase this.

At that time,

I was just thinking to buy the business, run it,

make my life better and serve the community.

This was my main ambition.

So if I am clear, honest,

so I don't be afraid of signing any contract with anybody,

assuming that they are doing everything for goodness of me.

And I had already positive thinking about this.

OK, I think you would agree

that a deficit of £4,878 is a serious matter.

that a deficit of £4,878 is a serious matter.

Do you agree with that? No, I didn't agree.

I told them everything, what was the problem.

Have you read all the documents which I submitted?

I rang the Post Office helpline.

"Please, can somebody ring me

"or come to my office and resolve this problem?"

But they said, "We don't believe you.

"We have to suspend you."

I never thought that I will lose everything

when I will be working in the post office.

We are supposed to be the most civilised country.

We don't expect anyone to behave like the Post Office does.

Why they do this?

Well, that's the million-dollar question.

The QC was very clever. Pick, pick, picking away at stuff.

You did everything right, Mohammad.

You told the truth, and that's all that matters.

Truth is truth.

Truth is truth. Can't hide it.

Well, that was brilliant. They chose him, and he smashed them.

Just a... pile of ash where the Post Office used to be.

Well, we've got Angela van den Bogerd

in the witness box tomorrow. Yep.

You get to ask the questions. I do.

And I've got plenty.

We get to see if we picked the right man for the job.

THEY CHUCKLE

Miss Van den Bogerd,

if we could please look at document G43/1.

if we could please look at document G43/1.

So, this is co-authored by you.

"Horizon Help has, since its introduction over a decade ago,

"fallen short of delivering the functionality that was promised

"as part of Horizon roll-out

"and that postmasters and their assistants desperately need."

Yes.

That is an honest and candid internal recognition

of the situation, isn't it?

There were shortcomings in the user experience.

It's... SHE SIGHS

It's clunky, would be the word I would use.

It's clunky, would be the word I would use.

Clunky? Mm-hm.

Right. So why don't you mention this in your witness statement?

I don't...

I suppose the length of my witness statement, erm...

it's so long anyway that...

Was it your understanding that there was a restriction

Was it your understanding that there was a restriction

on the length of your witness statement?

The witness statement in itself is quite lengthy anyway,

and so... I suppose it was just myself.

Mr Green.

If we could go, please, to document G38/2.

It says, "January 30, 2015.

"Mrs Vennells asks,

" 'Is it possible to access the system remotely?'

"I need to say no, it is not possible,

"I need to say no, it is not possible,

"and that we are sure of this."

So in 2015, it would be wrong to say, wouldn't it,

that Post Office couldn't remotely access Horizon data?

Post Office can't.

Could you do it through Fujitsu?

Through Fujitsu...

..yes, I can.

CROWD MUTTERS

SOFTLY: Yes.

You're going to have to keep your voice up, I'm afraid.

I'm sorry. Sorry.

I suggest you are hesitant to accept

anything that is damaging to Post Office.

That is not the case.

Do you feel pressure to protect the Post Office brand now?

At this particular moment?

Yes. No.

Can I just ask one simple question?

What exactly does "protecting a brand" mean?

What exactly does "protecting a brand" mean?

It-It... It just means that, erm...

One, it is making sure that how we do things,

how we behave, how we interact with people.

And it's...

It's just making sure that, at all times,

we are maintaining that.

CROWD MUTTERS

BIG BEN TOLLS, FIREWORKS BANG

Made it past midnight. That's pretty good for me.

HE CHUCKLES

All the meetings with MPs, letters to the minister.

More ministers than you can shake a stick at.

Years and years.

Still, nobody in power hears a word we say.

What's brought this on?

What's brought this on?

New Year's Honours list. God's sake.

Come on, turn it off, details man. Come to bed.

Paula Vennells has got the CBE. Joking...

Services to the Post Office.

SHE GASPS

Always another trick up their sleeves.

HE CHUCKLES

I'll see you up there.

The Post Office now admits they do have remote access,

but they insist it could never happen without the knowledge

and permission of the sub-postmaster.

Well, they're wrong. Of course they are.

But it's 15 years ago. More.

I... can't remember the details.

I can't help you, Alan. There must be someone else.

It's not that bad, honestly.

There'll be loads of other witnesses.

There'll be loads of other witnesses.

I wasn't senior, Alan. Not at all.

And my girlfriend really doesn't want me drawing attention to myself.

You just have to talk to the judge. Ignore everyone else.

You can really help us out here, Richard,

and still be home for your tea.

I'll only disappoint you.

You'll be fine.

BOB: 'Jo?'

Bob, what are you doing here?

Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world.

Fujitsu technical support giving evidence under oath.

The guy's quite shy. Alan's worried about him.

A real-life whistleblower.

It's gonna be dynamite, kid. Mm.

Mr Roll...

Would you accept that your recollection of your time

Would you accept that your recollection of your time

at Fujitsu is hazy?

It is quite hazy.

It could just be my perception of events from, er...

..15, 17 years ago.

So you're not saying that you were

routinely encountering coding issues, are you?

Bugs? No, no.

You don't recall ever having encountered a bug

that definitely caused a financial impact?

I don't... recall discovering one, no.

I don't... recall discovering one, no.

I'm going to move on to remote access now, Mr Roll.

My suggestion to you will be that you never

and would never manually change a transaction line of data

that a postmaster had keyed in.

No, that is something we did, as far as I remember it.

But ultimately, the sub-postmaster would be able to see

what Fujitsu had done, is that true?

Again, my understanding is that in certain circumstances,

Again, my understanding is that in certain circumstances,

the data would be indis... erm...

Indistinguishable?

Yes. Is that what you're trying to say?

Yes, my Lord.

You couldn't tell the difference.

No, you... you couldn't tell the difference.

Remote access to the Horizon system at branch level was extensive.

We had the ability to change data and change transaction information,

We had the ability to change data and change transaction information,

even while the postmaster was working.

Without the postmaster being aware?

Yes, that is my understanding.

Your understanding?

No.

My recollection.

'Thought he was great in the end.'

I wonder if it's enough.

I asked you a question, Bob, years ago, when we first met.

I asked you a question, Bob, years ago, when we first met.

"Bob, where did all the money go?"

£36,000, they took off me.

Now, I think -

I can't prove it, Jo, not yet, but I will -

that the money you gave them that they claimed you owed them...

hung around in some sort of suspense account for a while

while they failed to investigate.

And after a couple of years, your money, everyone's money...

And after a couple of years, your money, everyone's money...

..it just showed up in their profits.

My £36,000 that I didn't steal,

that they actually stole off me to pay off a debt

that never existed...

..is in the Post Office profits.

I just....

I mean, are they just incompetent, Alan, or just evil?

Er, well, you know, comes to the same thing in the end.

Er, well, you know, comes to the same thing in the end.

Another one? Please.

Definitely.

The Post Office describes itself on its own website

as "the nation's most trusted brand".

Well, as far as these claimants are concerned,

this might be thought to be wholly wishful thinking.

The Post Office witnesses give me the impression

The Post Office witnesses give me the impression

that they simply cannot allow themselves

to consider the possibility that the Post Office may be wrong,

as the consequences of doing so are too significant to contemplate.

Angela van den Bogerd did not always give me frank evidence.

She sought to mislead me.

Her judgment also seemed to be uniquely exercised

to paint the Post Office in the most favourable light possible,

regardless of the facts.

Mr Bates seemed to me to offer his evidence honestly and...

Mr Bates seemed to me to offer his evidence honestly and...

"..has proved himself to be unreasonable, stubborn

"and a considerable irritant to the Post Office."

He's got you to a T.

CHUCKLES Yeah, yeah.

And the Post Office, too.

Er, "Oppressive, unfair, excessive secrecy"

and, well, 180,000 other words just the same.

GIGGLES

Sorry, we've got to get back into court now.

Why? Something's come up.

Why? Something's come up.

Hold on, love.

'I just saw this five minutes ago.'

It's an application for me to recuse myself

as being the managing judge in these proceedings.

Mr Wentworth, would you care to elaborate?

Post Office asked the judge to sack himself

on the grounds that he's clearly biased against the Post Office.

Amazing. This is the best day ever. It's like a gift from heaven.

Proof they're desperate. Absolutely.

I mean, in my world, Alan,

the most, er, catastrophic mistake you can make

the most, er, catastrophic mistake you can make

is to make unfounded allegations of bias against the judge.

I mean, you just... you... I've never even...

They're idiots.

I bet you it wasn't the lawyers who decided to do this.

I bet it came from the Post Office boardroom.

Oh, well, to be a fly on the wall, eh?

Well, we're winning.

Well, yes, but...

Oh, I should have known there was a "but" coming over the hill.

Well, the trial stops now.

It'll be weeks, well, months of arguments to follow

It'll be weeks, well, months of arguments to follow

on whether we need a new judge.

And it's a delay the Post Office can afford, but we can't.

That's why they're doing this, to make us run out of money.

Alan... we have run out of money.

No.

No, no, we can't stop now.

No-one's talking about stopping. Not at all.

But... it is time to start...

..negotiating a settlement.

HE CHUCKLES

I think you're forgetting

I've negotiated with this mob before,

and people have died.

Well, people are still dying.

You know this, all right, but nobody else does.

There's millions of people out there who've never heard of us,

who don't know about the suicides and the... the ruined lives.

who don't know about the suicides and the... the ruined lives.

God knows how many victims who are...

who are still too scared to come forward.

Ha! I haven't spent 20 years battling these bastards

to pack up now and give the Post Office license

to start running amok and destroying lives.

Again.

Well...

Well, I-I've said enough.

Well, I-I've said enough.

We have to win.

Alan, we just did.

This is what winning looks like.

You're talking as though this is a defeat,

and it's... it's really not.

This is just what happens towards the end of any litigation -

we get around the table.

And if we don't and we lose in that arena,

we lose everything we've achieved so far

and the clock sets back to zero.

So... it's about knowing when to stop and when to negotiate.

So... it's about knowing when to stop and when to negotiate.

So that's it, give up now.

No, no. We... settle.

Same thing.

MAN: Mrs Vennells? Paula Vennells?

Yes? Ned Foster, Daily Mail.

Would you like to say anything to the postmasters

who've been through such a long legal battle?

No. I really find this unacceptable.

Would you like to apologise to them? Will you just... go away?

So, you won't apologise to them? No, pl... Go away.

Well, can I confirm, then, Mrs Vennells,

you're saying you will not apologise to the postmasters

after everything that they've been through?

NEWSREADER: 'After an epic legal battle

NEWSREADER: 'After an epic legal battle

'during which the Post Office tried and failed

'to remove the judge, the sub-postmasters have won

'on almost every count.

'Their victory comes with a compensation package

'worth £58 million.'

Well... You took them on, and you won.

And I cannot overstate enough quite the scale of this achievement.

It is more than we could ever have dreamed of from the beginning.

It is an absolutely astonishing victory.

In my professional career,

I have never seen anything quite like this, so...

I have never seen anything quite like this, so...

APPLAUSE

Having... Having said that,

I-I do need to make you aware that, erm, inevitably,

er, there are legal fees and court costs

and our obligations to our funders that will eat into that total.

So...

The amount that will be left after that to, erm...

..divide amongst yourselves as compensation

will be in the region of, erm, £12 million.

MUMBLING

Wait, 12 million between 555?

That... That's, what, 20... 20 grand each?

On average, yes. £20,000?

That... That...

That won't touch the sides of what we've lost.

Listen, I understand, but what you must remember

is that today's settlement opens a lot of doors

so that people with convictions can now use these judgments

so that people with convictions can now use these judgments

to help with their appeals going forward forever, so...

MAN: But what about us? ALL TALK OVER EACH OTHER

What this also means is that those sub-postmasters

who've been too scared to come forward up to now

will be able to do so without fear.

Friends... we did talk this over and over again,

Friends... we did talk this over and over again,

and we knew we might not see a penny, but...

..we decided, we voted to go ahead.

They got paid, right? MUMBLING

ALL TALK OVER EACH OTHER

Excuse me? Excuse me? TALKING CONTINUES

Excuse me! TALKING STOPS

I've been in court every single day,

I've been in court every single day,

and I saw us with my own eyes winning the most massive victory.

And that's all down to Alan and James and Patrick

and their hard work.

So could you just all... stop it?

GROUP MURMURS

It's never gonna end, is it?

I wouldn't mind, but our legal team worked for free a lot of the time,

and none of them, not even the funders,

took anything like the fees they were due.

Well, anyway, it's not about money, is it?

Well, it is, partly.

HE CHUCKLES But mostly...

You know what I mean.

You know what I mean.

You won, Alan.

You set out to prove Horizon is faulty, and you did it.

You won.

But everyone is still skint.

Alan...

Lee, I want to... We're not attacking you, Alan.

Everyone can see you did your best. Thank you.

I mean that.

Don't listen to the angry people. They're upset. Tired.

I know. It's all right.

Just remember, we'd be nowhere without you, Mr Bates.

HE CHUCKLES You're a... a legend.

Huh...

There from the beginning... and you never wavered.

There from the beginning... and you never wavered.

Never. Not for all those long years.

Just been a tower of strength and new ideas.

Ooh, am I embarrassing you? SHE CHUCKLES

Listen, Jo...

All this evidence the litigation has dug up,

all the secrets coming out of the woodwork...

well, we got to the truth.

well, we got to the truth.

It belongs to us now. Use it. Prove your innocence.

Go to the Court of Appeal and show the world

what a miscarriage of justice really looks like.

All right, Alan.

But... what are you gonna do?

Oh, er... There's a pint of beer in Wales with my name on it.

Oh, er... There's a pint of beer in Wales with my name on it.

HE CHUCKLES

HE SIGHS

I think people are bitter.

They're angry. And I get it, I do.

I'm bitter. I'm angry.

And I care about the money, of course I do.

I care about the home we should have had,

the life we could have had, and...

the life we could have had, and...

But I care about justice, too.

And you, I care about you,

so don't you dare go blaming yourself.

I don't. HE CHUCKLES

You have absolutely nothing to blame yourself for.

And that's why I don't blame myself.

Come on, let's get home.

I suppose I've... I've never seen the point of getting angry, Suzanne.

I-I treat it like a job, you know?

I-I treat it like a job, you know?

Something I lift off the shelf and then put back after.

Funnily enough, I don't really remember that part,

the "putting it back on the shelf" part.

More the "seven days a week, 365 days a year" part.

HE LAUGHS

And also, Alan, jobs are things that people are paid to do.

Yeah, something went a bit wrong there.

HE CHUCKLES

Not actually giving up at all, are you?

Well...

Well...

..there's the small matter of every one of the 555

getting their money back.

And then there's the small matter of the right people

holding up their hands to take the blame.

For the Vennells?

The British government.

Why? Well, because the government is the one and only owner

of the good ship Post Office,

which doesn't have a penny in its coffers

owing to the fact it's spent it all fighting us.

All of which means that in the end,

Her Majesty's Government is going to have to hold up its hands,

accept responsibility for this fiasco

and pay us the compensation we deserve.

When people say "the government", they really mean "the taxpayer",

but nobody would begrudge you.

We established the truth in a court of law, James,

and now I'm focusing on the 555

who need their lives putting back together.

You don't give up, do you, you awkward sod?

Well... ALAN CHUCKLES

Someone's got to be.

Alan, cast your mind back, if you will,

to the summer of 2013.

Er, Bob was doing his review.

And you were fighting me every inch of the way.

I was right, though.

And at the same time, the Post Office,

in secret and at the highest level,

were commissioning independent legal advice.

This lawyer's report establishes beyond doubt

that the Post Office lied to and were in contempt of Parliament.

that the Post Office lied to and were in contempt of Parliament.

You were right.

It also proves that all the time

we were wading through treacle trying to investigate,

senior Post Office executives were shredding documents

and failing to disclose that they knew

there were unsafe convictions.

Did... Did Paula know?

It's not possible to say with any certainty.

PAULA: 'I want to say that I'm deeply sorry

'for those sub-postmasters who have suffered.

'I have read many of their stories, and they are harrowing.

'I have read many of their stories, and they are harrowing.

'They are with me every day.

'I was and remain deeply disturbed by what has come to light.

'It is contrary to what I believe through my time

'as CEO of Post Office between 2012 and 2019.

'I wish to state for the record that I do not accept

'any personal criminal misconduct.'

'any personal criminal misconduct.'

WOMAN: Morning, Jo. Good luck. Oh, thank you.

This judgment concerns 42 men and women...

..who were all prosecuted by their employer

and convicted of crimes of dishonesty.

and convicted of crimes of dishonesty.

Josephine Hamilton pleaded guilty to 14 counts of false accounting.

There was no examination of the data for bugs, errors or defects.

There was no proof of an actual loss

as opposed to an Horizon-generated shortage.

Even more alarming,

Post Office Limited's own investigator had reported

Post Office Limited's own investigator had reported

there was no evidence of theft.

We conclude Mrs Hamilton's prosecution was unfair

and an affront to justice.

We allow her appeal.

We quash her convictions.

Notwithstanding his guilty plea, Noel Thomas's conviction is unsafe.

We allow his appeal.

His prosecution was unfair and an affront to justice.

His prosecution was unfair and an affront to justice.

In the case of Susan Rudkin, we allow her appeal.

Her conviction is unsafe.

Very sadly, three of the applicants -

Julian Wilson, Peter Holmes and Dawn O'Connell -

have not lived to see the outcome of their appeals.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

REPORTER: 'Did the Post Office bosses go to prison too?'

'No. No, no.

'I've been to jail. I know what it's like.

'It doesn't do any good.

'It doesn't do any good.

'Hit them in their pockets. Take their money off them.

'It's the only language they'll understand!'

APPLAUSE Good lad. On you go.

You should have gone down for these appeals.

It's not about me.

Where's Jo?

There she is.

REPORTER: 'Jo? What do you think The Post Office should say?'

'Oh, I dunno. Erm...

'We've waited so long for this day, and some of us didn't make it.

'People have died, you know,

'People have died, you know,

'and all we ever wanted was for the truth to come out

'and for someone to listen.'

It didn't have to be like this.

All these good people, their lives in ruins.

I mean, look at us. Do we look like criminals?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Bob!

BOB LAUGHS Bob!

Congratulations, Jo.

Not just unfair, but look at this!

"An affront to justice." That's, like, twice as bad.

No, that's 100 times as bad.

Oh, you were like lambs to the slaughter,

Oh, you were like lambs to the slaughter,

and they were villains and idiots.

Hey, you.

You make me cry, you're a bad man.

'Josephine Hamilton and others versus the Post Office!

'Look, Alan!' CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

'Look what we did! Look what you did!'

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Come on! Yes! Yes!

It's jaw-droppingly significant.

The judges have not only ruled that Jo and the others

were wrongfully convicted, but even worse -

that the Post Office decision to prosecute them was so wrong

that it amounts to an affront to the conscience of the court.

that it amounts to an affront to the conscience of the court.

This has to be the widest miscarriage of justice

in British legal history.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I know what you're thinking.

Well, it's not over, is it?

Well, how about we... just allow ourselves to enjoy it?

OK. HE CHUCKLES

TYPING IN OTHER ROOM

Alan? Er, just one email.

Minister of postal affairs.

Re legal costs for our 555 claimants.

Re legal costs for our 555 claimants.

Total now due: £46,843,853.

Plus another month's interest at 8%.

Mounts up.

On what planet is the government going to pay our legal costs?

They'll have to. They own the Post Office.

Sole shareholder.

The only one.

The only one awkward enough to sit at his computer,

The only one awkward enough to sit at his computer,

making trouble for 20 years.

20 years so far.

Just think of it as a hobby that got out of hand.

THEY LAUGH

Subtitles by accessibility@itv.com