Noel Thomas, a former sub-postmaster who was wrongly jailed in connection with the Horizon Post Office scandal, has praised a TV drama series for helping to raise wider awareness of the story. Thomas was one of over 700 people who were wrongly convicted of various crimes following the scandal, which was triggered by a faulty IT system. Thomas was sentenced to prison for false accounting back in 2006 and his conviction was not quashed until 2021. The ITV series entitled Mr Bates vs The Post Office focuses on the stories of the individuals whose lives were ruined as a result of the scandal and features Detectorists actor Toby Jones.
According to Thomas, the series is an important means of securing a bigger voice for the victims and bringing the scale of the scandal home to viewers. “We’ve been a small unit of about 500 of us but it hasn’t really got out there until now, and hopefully this programme will get to reach more viewers. It’s been 18 years for me and it’s been hell for a lot of people”, he said.
One scene from the series which has attracted particular attention was the point at which many postmasters realised the extent of the IT-related issues that had led to their false convictions. Speaking about the scene, former BBC Wales reporter Sion Tecwyn said that it was important to ensure that those who had been wrongly convicted understood that they were not alone and that many others like them had been affected by the same issues.
The Horizon Post Office scandal was the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK criminal history. It has led to an ongoing independent public statutory inquiry, which is set to continue this year.
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