ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office has gripped viewers across the country – but what happened to the real people portrayed in the drama?
Between 2000 and 2015, 736 sub-postmasters were prosecuted as a result of financial discrepancies caused by the faulty Horizon IT system. Hundreds more were held liable, losing homes, livelihoods and their lives in their attempts to repay the Post Office.
The shocking truth behind the Post Office Scandal has left viewers angry and numb. But what happened to the sub-postmasters featured in the show in real life? And what happened to those in charge of the Post Office cover up?
Wronged sub-postmaster Alan Bates continues to fight for the victims of the Post Office Scandal
Alan Bates, played by Toby Jones in the drama, opened a Post Office counter in the shop he co-owned with partner Suzanne (played by Julie Hesmondhalgh) in May 1998. They believed it was a safe career choice that would allow them to pursue their hobbies.
They were wrong. By 2000, Alan had noticed discrepancies with the shop’s Horizon machine. He reported his concerns to the Post Office multiple times, and by 2003 the Post Office terminated his contract. He was never prosecuted for theft, despite the Post Office claiming a shortfall in takings at his branch.
Alan didn’t stop, however, reporting his concerns to journalists. By 2009, Computer Weekly released a report on the Horizon system’s flaws. That same year, he formed the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA) featured in Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
Since then, Alan hasn’t stopped. He’s spent more than a decade campaigning for convictions to be quashed, sub-postmasters to receive compensation, and a greater understanding of the scandal. It took until 2019 for the Post Office to admit wrongdoing.
He said he won’t stop until everyone from the JFSA receives suitable compensation. “For me to try and draw a line under my involvement will be when the initial 555, the group that brought the court action, have received the financial redress due to them.
“You will never be able to repay people for what they’ve gone through and you will never be able to give them back all those years of suffering that they’ve had to endure. But hopefully, it might alleviate some of their problems going forward.”
In 2023, Alan declined the offer of a OBE, claiming he could not accept while former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells still held her CBE.
The real people behind Mr Bates vs The Post Office: Jo Hamilton
Jo Hamilton, played by Monica Dolan, was the sub-postmaster South Warnborough, Hampshire. Accepting the Post Office’s claims that she was the only person having problems, Jo believed she was at fault. She remortgaged her house twice to repay the Post Office, but it still wasn’t enough. She was fired from her position in 2006, and later charged with the theft of £36,000.
Jo pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of false accounting, and members of her community showed up to her trial in support.
In April 2021, Jo was one of 39 former convicted postmasters who had their convictions overturned. Sadly, three of those convicted postmasters did not live to see their names cleared.
In her witness statement after being cleared, Jo said: “18 years have been stolen from me, to say nothing of the money that was taken and the wider impact on those close to me. My parents went to their graves without knowing that I would ever be exonerated – that can never be rectified.
“The Post Office has blood on their hands.”
Jo continues to campaign for the full exoneration of wronged sub-postmasters and rightful compensation. In 2022, she shared her story in the Panorama special The Post Office Scandal.
Lee Castleton
Lee Castleton, played by Will Mellor, was the sub-postmaster at Bridlington, Yorkshire from 2003-2004. He ran the post office, while wife Lisa (Amy Nuttall) managed the attached newsagents.
Lee noticed that the figures weren’t adding up quickly. Knowing his accounting was right, he repeatedly rang the Post Office’s IT helpline for help.
Eventually, Lee asked for an audit to get to the bottom of the issue. The audit found Lee had a shortfall of £25,000. He was suspended immediately afterwards.
The Post Office took Lee to the High Court, where – with no money to spare – he was forced to represent himself. He believed he would be exonerated if he just told the truth, but he was not. The High Court ruled in favour of the Post Office and the Post Office began to chase for a legal bill totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds. Lee and Lisa could not pay, and were forced to declare bankruptcy.
After meeting Alan Bates and joining the group litigation, the Post Office agreed to a settlement for the Castletons in 2017.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Lee revealed he now works nightshifts in a local factory while Lisa works in a supermarket.
He said: “We haven’t got to the end of this; I’m still fighting, we’re still victims. But I look forward to the day when it is not the last thing I think about at night and the first thing I think about when I wake up.”
Real people behind Mr Bates Vs The Post Office: Michael and Susan Rudkin
Michael Rudkin, played by Shaun Dooley, and his wife Susan, were also victims of the Post Office Scandal. The pair ran the Stairfoot Post Office in Barnsley from 1995 before buying the Ibstock Post Office in Leicestershire in 2000. Michael ran the Ibstock branch, while Susan also worked there.
In 2006, Michael received a role on the Executive Board of the National Federation of sub-postmasters. This meant he spent more time working in London, while Susan ran the Ibstock branch in his place.
Susan noticed problems, and, like with Lee, it all came to a head after auditors confirmed she owed £44,000. She was quickly interviewed by Post Office investigators, who refused her legal representation. She was suspended that same day. Her and Michael both lost their jobs.
By 2009, Susan pleaded guilty to theft while under pressure to avoid a harsher sentence.
The pair were forced to turn their Ibstock home into a bed and breakfast in order to survive, which they still run to this day.
In 2021, Susan’s conviction was overturned alongside Jo’s. The government offered £600,000 compensation, minus profits made from the B&B business, but Michael argued it was not enough.
Michael told the BBC: “When you take into account that we have been out of the business for 15 years – that is 5,475 days. [£600,000] works out at just over £100 a day – which is absolutely obscene.
“We will not accept £600,000 – and that is £600,000 minus what my wife has earnt.”
The pair continue to seek alternative compensation.
Martin and Gina Griffiths
Martin and Gina Griffiths, played by Colin Tierney and Clare Calbraith, ran the Hope Farm Road Post Office in Great Sutton together for 14 years.
Shortfalls started appearing on their Horizon machine from 2009. The couple put their life savings into the machine to balance the books. By 2013, the Post Office gave Martin three months before they terminated his contract. Martin then took his own life.
Gina told Panorama: “They hounded him. They persecuted him. Didn’t seem to be any end to it at the time.
“He’s a proud man and I think he thought he was letting us all down; his children, his parents, me. To turn the machine off in the morning, and the worst, the worst thing for me was seeing my children.
“They had to see their dad die and it was purely down to the Post Office. Nobody else. So I blame them.”
Following the suicide, Gina applied for compensation in 2015. She was offered a payout that contained a gagging clause, preventing her from speaking publicly about the ordeal.
The real people behind Mr Bates vs The Post Office: Noel Thomas
Noel Thomas, played by Ifan Huw Dafydd, ran the Post Office in Gaerwan, Anglesey, Wales. He’d worked for the Post Office since the 1960s. In 2003, he began to notice discrepancies in his numbers. His world was turned upside down in October 2005, when auditors began to investigate a shortfall of £48,000. He lost his position as sub-postmaster, as well as his position as a county councillor.
Noel pleaded guilty to false accounting and was sentenced to nine months in prison. He spent his 60th birthday behind bars.
He told the Mirror: “They made me bankrupt and I had nothing. When I came home I didn’t like having the bedroom door shut. I have to get out and go for walks as much as possible. Even now I don’t like being shut up in the house or to be in one room too long.”
Noel and his wife were forced to move in with their daughter Sian after losing their home. By 2009, when the JCFA was formed, he was working for Yodel’s delivery service.
In April 2021, he too had his name cleared at the Court of Appeal. He has since received compensation from the Post Office.
Pam Stubbs
Pam, played by Lesley Nicol, was the sub-postmaster at Barkham Post Office in Wokingham. In 2009, due to building work on her branch, she and her Horizon terminal moved to a Portakabin in the branch’s car park. It was only after she moved her terminal that Pam began having issues with Horizon.
She called the helpline regularly, although – like the others – found it wasn’t much help. At one point, an auditor arrived and saw the Horizon system glitch in front of their eyes, suddenly displaying a shortfall of £300. Despite this, an investigation found no problems with the system.
Pam was suspended by the Post Office in 2010, after the Post Office said she had accrued losses of £25,000.
She continued to run the shop attached to her Post Office while the Post Office was run by agency staff. Pam eventually sold her Post Office, including the shop and her home.
Former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells received a CBE for her services in 2019
Paula Vennells, played by Lia Williams, was the CEO of the Post Office as they continued to persecute sub-postmasters despite evidence of Horizon’s faults. She joined the Post Office in 2007, before becoming CEO in 2012 – a position she held until 2019.
During Paula’s tenure, the Post Office went from making huge losses to turning a profit.
Away from the Post Office, Paula was also an ordained Church of England priest. She served as a Minister at Bronham, Bedfordshire and St Albans, Hertfordshire, though she was not paid for these duties.
Paula left the Post Office in 2019 and received a CBE for her services. She next became chair of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, but left this role in 2020.
In 2021, after Jo and 38 others had their convictions quashed, Paula stepped down from multiple roles. These included her duties as an Anglican priest, and directorships at Morrisons and Dunelm.
Angela Van den Bogerd
Angela Van den Bogerd, portrayed by Katherine Kelly, worked for the Post Office and was in charge of handling Horizon complaints in 2010.
She worked for the Post Office for more than 33 years, with positions including as Network Change Operations Manager, Head of Network Services, Head of Partnerships, Director of Support Services, People & Change Director and Business Improvement Director.
Her role in the Post Office Scandal became clear in 2019, when High Court Judge said she “did not give me frank evidence, and sought to obfuscate matters, and mislead me”.
Angela stepped down from her role at the Post Office and was later appointed Head of People at the Football Association of Wales in 2020. She left the role in 2021, following disquiet over her appointment.
The real people behind Mr Bates vs The Post Office: James Arbuthnot MP
Conservative politician James Arbuthnot (Alex Jennings) joined the JFSA campaign in 2015 in support of his constituent Jo Hamilton.
He was the MP for North East Hampshire at the time, a position he’d held since 1997.
In 2015 an independent report found the Post Office did not make attempts to explain the shortfalls before prosecuting subpostmasters. In response, Arbuthnot called for a judge-led investigation into how the Post Office had handled the situation.
He said: “These are people who have been pillars of the community and have their reputations dragged through the mud.
“The way they have been treated is an utter disgrace.”
Former Prime Minister David Cameron nominated James as a peer in August 2015. He became Baron Arbuthnot of Edrom, of Edrom in the County of Berwick that October.
As of 2023, he continues to sit on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office concludes tonight (Thursday, January 4) on ITV1 at 9pm. You can stream the series now on ITVX.
Read more: Mr Bates vs the Post Office cast: Julie Hesmondhalgh, Toby Jones and Katherine Kelly star
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