A former Post Office branch manager has opened up about how she was sent to prison just two days after her daughter’s 10th birthday due to being wrongfully accused of stealing £74,000 from her branch in Tiverton, Devon. Janine Powell was sacked and subsequently arrested, before being convicted at a trial in Exeter in 2008. Despite maintaining her innocence, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison and served five months behind bars. Ms Powell was just one of over 700 people wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Post Office Horizon scandal, which involved faulty software that made it appear as though money was missing.
The scandal, which occurred between 1999 and 2015, is now in the spotlight following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Ms Powell was released from prison but spent a further three months wearing an electronic tag. She subsequently moved away from Tiverton, but still feels guilt when she returns to the area. Despite people being nice to her and telling her that they believe she is innocent, Ms Powell still feels guilty as she believes that people talk about her behind her back.
Some sub-postmasters, like Ms Powell, were wrongfully imprisoned; many more were financially ruined and forced into declaring bankruptcy. Some individuals who were affected by the scandal have even passed away. The Metropolitan Police is investigating possible fraud offences relating to the prosecutions, and a public inquiry into the Horizon scandal is ongoing, to which Ms Powell has been providing evidence.
Calls have been growing for the government to bring forward emergency legislation in response to the scandal and ministers have stated that plans to speed up the process will be introduced shortly. Quashing the convictions of those who were innocent is one proposal that has been made. In 2022, Ms Powell’s conviction, along with many others, was quashed. Despite this, details surrounding compensation are not the main issue for Ms Powell. She simply wants the Post Office to take ownership of their wrongdoing and admit that they were in the wrong
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