THE MS for Alyn and Deeside says the way victims of the Post Office scandal have been treated is 'truly a disgrace'.

The popular ITV drama 'Mr Bates vs the Post Office' - detailing the story of Alan Bates - has put the scandal well and truly back in the spotlight.

It tells the tale of how, between 1999 and 2015, over 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for theft, false accounting and fraud when shortfalls were recorded at their branches.

But these were in fact due to errors of the Post Office's Horizon accounting software.

In 2019, the High Court ruled that the Horizon system was faulty and in 2020 the government established a public inquiry.

Courts began to quash convictions from 2020, but some victims are still fighting to have their convictions overturned and receive compensation with a public inquiry ongoing.

On Wednesday (January 10), Jack Sargeant MS asked an urgent question in the Senedd in response to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's announcement of primary legislation to exonerate and compensate Sub Post Masters Impacted by the Post Office Horizon Scandal. 

Mr Sargeant, who has been raising the scandal and its impact on people’s lives for many years, is concerned that the legislation will not award enough compensation and will not be fast enough to exonerate people who have already waited so long for justice.

He says the figure announced by the PM (£75,000) for GLO Post Masters is simply not enough to compensate for all of this. 

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Mr Sargeant said: "I'm sure I'm not alone in this Chamber when I say I am sickened by the scale of injustice of the Post Office Horizon scandal. So many lives impacted, so many lives ruined. It is truly a disgrace."

"People in authority complicit in this injustice, and many others unwilling to look and listen when campaigners like Alan Bates asked them to do so. The scales of justice in this country are tipped towards the powerful, and basic principles like a duty of candour are missing. This is why we need the UK Government to introduce a Hillsborough law now.

"Llywydd, people have lost houses. They've been made bankrupt. They've lost their life savings. They have been waiting years to clear their names and to get adequate compensation. Presiding Officer, some have tragically taken their own lives by suicide. Others have lost their lives to ill health.

"Minister, will you use your office to stress to the UK Government that the compensation has to be significant enough to recognise the reality of the situation? The initial £75,000 figure announced by the Prime Minister this afternoon for the group litigation order postmasters is simply not good enough.

"And whilst we await the finer details of the Prime Minister's proposals, particularly those to exonerate innocent victims, will you express to the UK Ministers that speed is of the essence here? People have already passed away waiting to clear their names, and the sub-postmasters and their families should not be waiting a second longer for the compensation, justice and truth they deserve."

The Leader: PIC: Cast of 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office' (ITV).

The Minister - Hannah Blythyn MS - replied: "I thank Jack Sargeant for bringing this matter to the attention of the Senedd today, and I speak for many when I say I'm sure he is certainly not alone in his shock and in being sickened at the scale of injustice that we've seen.

"And too often the justice system fails ordinary people, and time and time again, lives are ruined and, as you said, tragically lost by miscarriages of justice, and then exacerbated by reticence or downright refusal to right those wrongs.

RECOMMENDED READING: North Wales actor reveals what it was like on the set of Mr Bates vs The Post Office

"And whilst I join with you in recognising the Prime Minister's statement earlier today in the House of Commons as a step in the right direction to righting those wrongs, I agree that speed and the scale of response is also of the essence.

"And I would also say, actually, that it's a sad reflection of our times that the seriousness of the issue that we and others have raised is now only seemingly taken seriously on the back, actually, of a very good and impactful TV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office. 

"And I just want to assure Members that the Counsel General is shortly meeting with all four UK nations, and this profoundly distressing and long-lasting miscarriage of justice will be discussed together, alongside the fundamental changes that are absolutely needed to ensure that the rule of law is more than just a soundbite."