No doubt you have watched the shocking story Mr Bates vs. the Post Office depicted, magnificently, by Toby Jones and Julie Hesmondhalgh, who thankfully managed to avoid being typecast as Roy Cropper’s transexual wife.
The scandal, for that’s what it is, was depicted so powerfully and to popular acclaim, as those of my ilk remember it, and all the way through I could not help thinking: Why did the establishment not search for justice at the time? Did they think these people, tenacious so and so’s that they are, were going to roll over?
The Government, in election year and as reactive as ever, are finally, belatedly, ‘acting’ to solve the issue as quickly as possible, despite it now having lived on for a quarter of a century. Now, I will not re-hash the well-trodden story, but suffice to say lives have, and continue to be, ruined as the only thing, no matter the riches and successes we achieve in life, we die with, is our reputation.
Many lost their homes, their dignity, their mental health, future career prospects and in some cases, their lives and, in any other sphere of life, should your actions, knowingly made, have caused others to lose their mortality, then arguably you would be up on a manslaughter charge or 20 as there is little argument as to how the Post Office upper brass actions, along with Fujitsu, contributed exponentially to loss of life.
And yes, we have had public ‘scandals’ before and we will have them again: A scandal is an event that is regarded as morally or legally wrong and which causes public outrage. The line of acceptability has shifted however: If a supermodel were papped snorting a line of Columbian marching powder today, it would likely not hit the front page and lose numerous lucrative contracts as has done in the past.
But the Post Office scandal is another level and is the prima case of a bully boy, publicly funded gargantuan, employing yes men and women who, knowing the wrong and harm they were inflicting continued hell bent on destruction of, as Toby Jones said ‘the little guys’.
And so now, with guilt and contrition not really evident, we have a government attempting to put a damp tea towel on a house fire by their ‘quick actions’, which should involve immediate quashing of convictions of every single last one of the Horizon victims, before huge payouts covering loss of earnings and compensation are paid, in weeks not years, and a grovelling public apology is made by all of those in power who were privy to the biggest scandal to hit British shores this century.
Yes, as scandals go, they rarely get much bigger, or have the longevity, of this one and now, having reached critical mass, the next step is rectification and punishment, which is where, once again, another scandal is looming on the horizon as we override easy quick fixes in place of prolonging death by a thousand paper cuts…
- Brett Ellis is a teacher
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