Will Mellor has called on postal bosses in charge at the time of the Horizon scandal to finally tell the truth after the miscarriage of justice was in the spotlight this year.
Actor Will, 47, plays sub-postmaster Lee Castleton in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which tells the story of a long-running campaign to expose the Horizon IT systems scandal, in which hundreds of Post Office staff were wrongly accused of theft and fraud.
More than 700 postal workers were falsely prosecuted based on faulty data from the company's Horizon computer system, developed by Fujitsu.
Some of these people were sent to prison after being convicted of accounting fraud and theft, others had their finances in shambles, and some will never see justice because they have since died. It is considered the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.
And Will said he was pleased that the program had attracted enough attention that authorities and politicians were finally taking notice.
Will Mellor has called on postal bosses in charge at the time of the Horizon scandal to finally tell the truth after the miscarriage of justice was in the spotlight this year (pictured in June last year).
Actor Will, 47, plays sub-postmaster Lee Castleton in ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office (pictured) and is delighted the show has attracted so much attention
Of the role of Sub-Postmaster Lee Castleton, Will told TalkTV: “When you have it as a four-part drama, like we had it, and you see the emotions.” And when you see what these people have been through, and when you see it visually , then it touches even more and gets people talking every day.
“Everywhere I go on the street, people are talking to me about it.” My mother calls me: “It’s on TV again,” everyone is talking about it.”
He continued: “That was the least we thought. If we can give these people a voice and get people to hear and see what actually happened here, maybe we can make a difference.”
“Honestly, I couldn’t have imagined the reaction to what happened. It's probably the biggest and best thing I've ever done in my career because it's more than a drama, it's more than a TV show, it's much bigger. That’s why I’m very proud to be a part of it.”
The drama sparked renewed interest in the scandal after it aired last week, prompting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to consider ways to finally compensate all wrongfully accused postmasters.
Lee had tried to inform the post office when he noticed a glitch in the computer software, but he claimed they didn't seem to care.
He had to represent himself in the Supreme Court and was then bankrupted in a difficult and terrible chain of events. He hasn't seen a cent of compensation yet.
When Will first read the script, he said, “I kept putting it down and saying, 'I can't believe this is true.'” I've told a lot of people that. Watching this drama, you have to keep reminding yourself that it's true.
Lee had tried to inform the post office when he noticed a glitch in the computer software, but he claimed they didn't seem to care (Lee and his wife Lisa pictured)
Lee had to represent himself in the Supreme Court and was then bankrupted in a difficult and frightening chain of events. He hasn't seen a penny in compensation yet (Will star as Lee in the drama, alongside actress Amy Nuttall as Lee's wife Lisa)
“If this were a fictional drama, you would say it's gone too far, no one would do this, no one would be so callous, where is the humanity?” But because it's true, it landed even bigger than I thought had. And it's shocking, it's unbelievable.
“But I’m so proud of it. I'm so proud to be a part of it, especially now what's happening. I don't think we can imagine a reaction as big as this!
“You can see that things are changing because of this, and we gave these people a voice, which is the least we can do for these people, especially Lee, who I play.”
“It’s an amazing experience for me to be a part of, but I’m glad that hopefully something has happened.”
He added that he would like to see former sub-postmaster Lee and other victims receive compensation: “I hope that Lee in particular, because I played him, gets what's coming to him and that he gets his compensation .”
The actor spoke about the stress and anguish that many people had gone through because of the lawsuits and continued, “What price are you asking for this?” I just wish these people would stand up and speak out, tell the truth and stop to hide. Where is humanity? How did they sleep at night knowing they were doing this to people? It's just beyond my imagination.'
Lee, who played Will in the drama, said he was “completely overwhelmed” when he heard the star had been cast. He said: “I am very grateful and humbled by the empathy, understanding and feeling he brings to the role…”
“I can't express how emotional it made me feel because seeing Will in the kitchen with Amy, who plays my beautiful wife Lisa, brings back this flood of memories that are so deeply embedded in my body.” Kudos to you, Will, and thank you.'
Victims of the scandal have shared their heartbreaking stories of how they were falsely branded as thieves.
One of the victims, Jess Kaur, broke down in tears as she told Good Morning Britain viewers that she was driven to attempt suicide after being accused of “stealing money from the branch”. She has not yet received any financial compensation.
Two other victims, Tracy Felstead and Janet Skinner, told BBC Breakfast that Ms Vennells returned the award.
Speaking to Susanna Reid, Jess said: “It made me so angry that I tried to commit suicide.”
“While I was in the hospital. The post office didn't believe I was there. They sent their own doctors and examined me too. Not only was I given electric shocks, I was also distressed by them.”
Jess Kaur was moved to tears as she told Good Morning Britain viewers that she was driven to attempt suicide after being accused of “stealing money” from the branch where she worked
The ITV drama of the scandal has also led to more than a million signing a petition calling on former postal boss Paula Vennells to hand back her CBE.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has raised hopes of a significant breakthrough in abolishing Ms Vennells' gong as he hinted that all sub-postmasters convicted in the fiasco could soon be exonerated. So far only a fraction has been officially clarified.
Justice Minister Alex Chalk said last night: “This was an appalling miscarriage of justice.” “I am concerned that many sub-postmasters continue to be convicted and I am exploring what legal options are available to expedite and ensure justice.”
A public inquiry into the scandal is due to resume evidentiary hearings this week. Witnesses from Fujitsu – the company behind the Horizon IT system – are expected to appear later this month.
Most postmasters have received only interim payments from the government rather than full financial compensation, most of which has been swallowed up by legal fees.
It is believed that only 11 out of 475 of the full and final compensation agreements have been completed.
Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates helped lead the campaign that exposed the Horizon IT scandal and took legal action against the Post Office on his behalf.
He and his partner Suzanne Sercombe used their savings to buy the branch in 1998.
According to WalesOnline, Alan, who kept careful records, noticed unexplained losses in the accounts in late 2000 when a £6,000 shortfall occurred.
Victims of the postal scandal have told their heartbreaking stories of being falsely branded as thieves, as calls mount for Paula Vennells to hand back her CBE (Paula pictured in 2012).
More than a million people have signed a petition calling on former postal chief Paula Vennells to lose her CBE as anger grows over the Horizon scandal
His contract as sub-postmaster was terminated by the post office in 2003 after he refused to accept liability for losses of £1,200 at its branch in Llandudno, Wales. But he claimed the money never existed and was due to a software error.
He and his partner kept the business, but the termination of the postal contract meant they lost an investment of around £60,000.
Alan initially believed he was the only subpostmaster or postmistress falsely accused by the post office. The Postal Service prosecuted them, resulting in 736 being prosecuted for missing money – 86 of which were overturned last September.
And in 2009, he founded the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance (JSFA).
Alan, along with a group of wronged sub-postmasters, hired lawyers to take on their case and in 2018, as one of the six lead plaintiffs, he sued the Post Office under a Group Litigation Order (GLO) in the High Court.
In 2019, a judge ruled that the Horizon IT system had “errors, errors and defects,” and the Post Office agreed to settle with all 55 plaintiffs who joined the lawsuit.
After his tireless campaigning, he was offered an OBE for services to the judiciary in January last year, but turned it down because the job was not yet done.
He told the Honors Committee: “I appreciate that there are certainly people who believe that after the many years of the unpaid campaign that I have led to bring the truth to light, I deserve some recognition for my Work deserves.”
“But I hope you can understand why it would be so inappropriate for me to accept an award at this time, when so many victims continue to suffer so deeply [Paula] Vennells still enjoys the honor and remains a “role model” for the Honors Committee.”
Alan won a special recognition award at the 2023 Pride of Britain Awards.
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