Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The true story behind drama on Horizon IT scandal

Published

11 months ago

January 4, 2024

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The new year has brought with it a gripping, scandalous new TV drama – but the tale it tells is very real.

Mr Bates vs The Post Office depicts the story of former subpostmasters and subpostmistresses who were held liable by the Post Office for financial discrepancies thrown up by its computerised accounting system, Horizon.

Their pursuit led to more than 700 prosecutions, criminal convictions and, in some cases, prison sentences.

The four-part ITV drama, which concludes on Thursday, aims to share some of their stories with a wider audience.

Many of those pursued were told to plead guilty to crimes or face prison, according to lawyers who have represented dozens of those impacted.

They were forced to pay the Post Office money it claimed had gone missing, which meant many lost their jobs, homes and lifesavings.

In 2019, Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance won a High Court case, led by former subpostmaster Alan Bates – the drama’s titular Mr Bates as played by Toby Jones.

That case found “bugs, errors and defects in the Horizon system caused discrepancies in postmasters’ branch accounts”.

Mr Bates ran a post office in the seaside resort of Llandudno in North Wales.

“This is an enormously complex and vastly diverse story, which has now been made into a drama. It’s not a factual documentary about what went on, it’s a drama to engage people,” he said.

“So some things have had to be summarised – years have had to be chopped out because they have to take the plot forward. I suppose that’s understandable.

“It couldn’t cover all of the human loss and suffering – there are hundreds and hundreds of people and families who have been affected. What I hope people will realise is that in many cases, even now, the real story is not finished.”

Noel Thomas, 77, from Anglesey, was another former subpostmaster who was wrongfully convicted.

His conviction of false accounting in 2006 was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2021.

In Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Mr Thomas was played by actor Ifan Huw Dafydd.

Mr Thomas told Sky News the response he’d had to the dramatisation of his story and that of his former colleagues was “fantastic”.

“It’s great to be honest. It’s shown the hero we had in Alan Bates, and lots of other people, in the press, and some MPs too to be honest with you,” he said.

“They’ve been great with us. But the story wasn’t being shared widely enough.”

Mr Thomas first came across Alan Bates when former Welsh language current affairs programme Taro Naw found more people who had been affected.

“I have to say, Alan Bates led us,” he said.

“I was a postman and the way I can describe Alan is – as a postman you don’t like dogs, the dog would get hold of you and not let go – and Alan is exactly the same. Once he’s got hold of something he’s not going to let go.”

But while Mr Thomas is glad more people now know what happened to him, some scenes were difficult to relive.

“Going into the cell hit me. Because, unfortunately, I was sent to Walton [a prison in Liverpool],” he said.

“Thank heavens I was only there for two days. But I was locked up. I was only let out to get food. Half an hour at lunchtime and half an hour to three quarters at night. The rest of the time I was locked up.”

Mr Thomas said he has “discussed very little about being inside” with his family.

“I’ve kept it more or less to myself, and the way I’ve dealt with it is we live in a lovely place in Anglesey and we go out and walk a lot,” he said.

“I’ve spoken with some of my friends who I contact often and they’ve been shocked to see what’s come out.”

Who are some of the other victims?

Jo Hamilton was the subpostmaster in South Warnborough, Hampshire, played in the dramatisation by Monica Dolan.

Ms Hamilton previously told Sky News she felt “backed into a corner”.

“They said if I pleaded guilty to false accounting and paid the £36,000 shortfall, they would drop the theft charge,” she said.

“I felt I had a gun held to my head and had no choice.”

Will Mellor plays Lee Castleton, who the actor describes as “an everyday guy”.

“He’s got his wife and two children and he runs the local Post Office. He’s just an average person, like most of these people are.”

Martin Griffiths, a father of two, was pursued by the Post Office for alleged shortfalls of £60,000.

The third episode of the dramatisation shows how the establishment of a mediation scheme came too late for him as he took his own life.

Other victims featured in the drama include Saman Kaur, Michael Rudkin, Pam Stubbs.

Only some of the hundreds whose lives were changed forever.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

Entertainment

First Glastonbury tickets sell out in 30 minutes as new booking system launched

Published

3 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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First Glastonbury tickets sell out in 30 minutes as new booking system launched

Coach tickets to Glastonbury 2025 were sold out in half an hour, organisers have said, as they roll out a new booking system for festivalgoers.

They were the first group of tickets to be sold for the world-famous festival in Somerset, which is set to take place between 25 and 29 June.

This year, fans navigated a new system to buy the tickets as they were “randomly assigned a place in a queue” instead of having to refresh the holding page once they went live.

The organisers said in a post on X: “The Glastonbury 2025 tickets + coach travel which were on sale this evening have now all been sold.

“Our thanks to everyone who bought one.”

They added that National Express services would be available to bring festivalgoers from across the country to Glastonbury.

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Standard tickets will go on sale on Sunday at 9am. Last year they were sold out within an hour.

See Tickets said in a post on X that “confirmation emails are going out now to everyone who got @Glastonbury coach tickets this evening”.

Tickets for the annual event at Worthy Farm in Somerset cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, and are sold exclusively through the See Tickets website, with no third-party sellers involved.

The new ticket system has changed the way people join the booking system.

Organisers previously warned hopefuls to log in “at least a few minutes” before the sale opened today and to avoid refreshing the page.

Festivalgoers were also told not to attempt to game the system by using multiple devices.

The sale follows chaos earlier this year when tickets for the Oasis reunion went on sale, seeing a multitude of disappointed fans as well as those who felt cheated after being charged hundreds of pounds more for their tickets than was originally advertised.

Anyone wishing to buy tickets for Glastonbury must have registered by 11 November, a rule in place to avoid touting.

Entertainment

Christmas adverts – the 10 most-anticipated ads as the festive battle for customers commences

Published

9 hours ago

November 14, 2024

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Christmas adverts - the 10 most-anticipated ads as the festive battle for customers commences

With just under six weeks to go to Christmas Day, the countdown has officially begun, with all the big brands rolling out their seasonal adverts.

Becoming something of an institution over recent years, many see the festive ads as the starting pistol for their Christmas preparation/panic, despite us only being halfway through November.

And with an estimated £10.5bn spent on this year’s Xmas ads, it’s not just about inducing a fuzzy warm feeling in viewers, but also about encouraging them to put their hand in their pocket.

As we brace ourselves for festive fun, we take a swift look at this year’s bevvy of commercial offerings, as the annual battle of the Christmas adverts begins.

John Lewis

A girl called Sally falls into a clothes rack reminiscent of CS Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, but instead of finding Narnia, she ends up in John Lewis.

Through family flashbacks we lean how much she loves her older sister, whose gift she has carelessly left it to the last minute to buy. Spoiler alert – as one would expect in an advert for a retailer, she finds a pressie.

With the retailer famous for its use of cover versions in their Christmas ads, this one is the origin story for a new cover, with a concurrent competition on TikTok to find an aspiring artist to rerecord a version, which will be featured on the Christmas Day airing and released by record label BMG too.

Waitrose

Marketed as a whodunnit – this big-budget production has a host of celebrity cameos, an intricate storyline and not one but two parts.

Comedian Joe Wilkinson, Fleabag star Sian Clifford and Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen all have a role in the ensemble, revolving around hunting down the thief of a “chilled desert”.

Being Christmas, when tensions are traditionally high, everyone has reason to have scoffed it. The culprit won’t be revealed until the second part of the ad is released, but in the meantime, activity at Kings Cross Station, in stores and on social media is set to keep the investigation very much alive.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s goes big for its advert, calling on a beloved Roald Dahl character – the BFG, or Big Friendly Giant – to travel the country with a supermarket worker called Sophie (who pleasingly is a real store employee) in the search for the perfect festive treats.

A CGI BFG procures salmon, sprouts and cheese before a bit of magic helps him whip it all up into a feast, which he then gifts to an unsuspecting family through the window.

The first ones to release their ad earlier this month, the dulcet tones of national treasure Stephen Fry wrap the action, with a call to arms to stock up in readiness for Christmas.

M&S

Another national treasure – Dawn French – is back for this one, playing both herself and a festive fairy, who gives both French and her home a make-over ready for a Christmas soiree.

French, whose multi-Christmas-dinner eating antics on The Vicar Of Dibley put her into the Xmas annals, is transformed into “the quintessential hostess” with a bit of help from her little friend.

Banking on the idea that you can never have enough of a good thing, there are six instalments of the advert running between now and the New Year. Who doesn’t like a second – or sixth – helping.

Lidl

This one pulls on the heartstrings, with a little girl inspired to give a gift to a boy who appears not to have any, after an old lady gives her some magic bells.

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper (he directed The King’s Speech), a CGI racoon and giant gingerbread man add a little action to events around the dinner table.

But the take home message is to think about giving as well as receiving, with the return of the retailer’s toy banks scheme set up at supermarkets with the aim of donating over 100,000 toys, to ensure no child experiences a giftless Christmas.

Aldi

Kevin the Carrot is back for a ninth year running, this time trying to save the Christmas spirit from a bunch of hard-boiled humbug villains.

With the ad narrated by actor Jim Broadbent, our plucky hero braves an oven, a Mission Impossible-inspired ventilation system and Bond-esque snow jet-ski dash across the mountains, all to save Christmas.

Helped by his wife Katie, he of course pulls it off. A fan favourite, soft toys of the root vegetable are sold in stores, and this year cuddly humbugs are on sale too.

Morrisons

It’s a song and dance number from Morrisons, courtesy of their singing oven gloves performing Bugsy Malone’s You Give A Little Love.

A choir of 26 Morrisons employees gave voice to the gloves, recording their rendition of the song at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London.

Like Lidl, the retailer pulled out the directing big guns, hiring The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey to oversee proceedings.

Asda

Bagging the prize for the most gnome puns in one advert, Asda sees a flash mob of gnomes preparing the store for Christmas.

The resulting advert isn’t as irritating as it sounds on paper, thanks to nice performances by the two human characters in the ad – Maggie and Bill.

And as we know, Christmas is all about the merchandise, so the supermarkets are of course selling special Xmas versions of their garden gnomes to accompany their already 50-strong gnome range. Who knew?

Tesco

Tesco reminds us of those members of the family who are no longer here to join us on the big day, with a man carrying on his late grandmother’s festive tradition of baking gingerbread.

He becomes obsessed with the spicy treat, as it infiltrates every part of his day from his haircut to a trip to see the Christmas lights.

He eventually gets together with his grandad to bake a gingerbread house, revealing it to the family at lunch, thus keeping the tradition alive.

Greggs

And in the most unlikely festive cameo of the year, Greggs has enlisted Nigella Lawson to star in its first Christmas ad.

Rapturously endorsing their festive bakes, Lawson has her hands full of pasties, and her table full of take-away coffees, as she promotes the bakery’s festive-themed fare.

Whether or not you believe the 64-year-old TV chef really tucks into their sausage rolls in real life – the attention-grabbing collaboration looks like a wise move for the chain, whose sales have jumped in recent weeks as it continues its UK expansion.

Entertainment

Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is ‘absolutely, wildly overwhelming’

Published

1 day ago

November 13, 2024

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Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is 'absolutely, wildly overwhelming'

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal has said bringing Sir Ridley Scott’s legacy sequel to the big screen has been a “wildly… overwhelming” experience.

The star was speaking to Sky News on the red carpet at the film’s royal premiere which was attended by His Majesty the King, who had earlier hosted members of the film and TV industry at a Buckingham Palace reception.

When asked about making the move from indie films, like All Of Us Strangers and Aftersun, into one of the most eagerly anticipated films this year, Mescal said: “I’m excited to play with what the audience is expecting of me.”

“The royal audience is one thing… I think we’ve seen how an audience responded to the film, royal or not, and I think we’re excited for people to see it.”

A whole 24 years after Sir Ridley Scott’s Roman blockbuster starring Russell Crowe, Mescal plays Lucius who, much like the original, finds himself trying to win back his freedom after powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home.

With an actual-scale model of the Colosseum built for the production, the film comes with high costs and a lot of hype.

“I’m struggling with words at the moment,” Mescal admitted, taking in the occasion, having come from the champagne reception at Buckingham Palace.

“This has been an absolutely, wildly – I keep using the word overwhelming – but I think if this isn’t slightly overwhelming then I don’t know what the hell is. I’m having a great time.”

Sir Ridley explained his reason for casting Mescal was that he saw aspects of “a young Albert Finney” in him.

While the pressure is on for the sequel to do well at the box office, the director said he’s learnt how to deal with the weight of expectations over the years.

“Any film of [this] scale, it doesn’t matter how we play it down, it’s colossally stressful. You better embrace stress or don’t do the job.”

Before heading to the premiere, the King welcomed directors, actors, TV presenters, stunt performers and costume designers at the palace to mark the centenary of the Film and TV Charity, of which Charles has become patron.

Sir Ridley, actor Joseph Fiennes, actress India Amarteifio from the hit Netflix show Queen Charlotte, and TV presenter Claudia Winkleman were among the celebrities who attended the event.

Gladiator II is in cinemas on 15 November.