Post Office inquiry ends for ‘superfans’ gripped by the scandal | EUROtoday

People with no connection to the Post Office have advised the BBC how they turned engrossed watching the general public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.

It turned virtually field workplace viewing – racking up greater than 20 million views on YouTube – largely helped by the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office which introduced the scandal to wider public consideration.

It was a story of extraordinary individuals going about their working lives who have been victims of a defective IT system, with catastrophic penalties. Some have been financially ruined, others went to jail. Some died whereas ready for justice.

The sub-postmasters’ plight struck a chord with many, and a few “superfans” avidly adopted each step of the inquiry, each on-line and in individual.

These “superfans” advised the BBC what it was that gripped them and what they hope for now that the inquiry has come to an finish, after 225 days of hearings involving 298 witnesses.

Anthony Abdool thinks he is one of many few “superfans” who hasn’t seen the ITV drama. Instead, he heard concerning the scandal on the information and would watch the inquiry on-line at residence, discovering it “profoundly moving and outrageous”.

“The more they got into it, the more outraged I became,” Anthony says.

That’s when he determined to attend and took day without work work to go. Anthony, who’s a contract promoting copywriter, says he was “very lucky” his boss let him take a complete of 9 days as paid depart.

His colleagues have been additionally supportive of his resolution to attend and repeatedly requested him for updates.

“I think that reflects the wider importance that people attach to the inquiry and I can’t think of anything I’ve been interested in that united the public in such a way.”

Anthony would put up on X whereas on the inquiry and made mates on-line with others within the story. He says he’ll have an interest to see in the event that they wish to keep “Twitter mates or if we’ve reached the end of our journey”.

And now that the inquiry is over, he says: “Well, I’ll have to go back to work!”

Isabella Thomas, 19, attended the inquiry for per week of labor expertise over the summer time.

“I was truly humbled to be in the presence of so many incredible people, working to ensure justice is served to those who so deserve it,” says the second-year regulation and politics pupil.

The scandalwhich noticed greater than 900 sub-postmasters prosecuted for stealing due to incorrect data from the Horizon pc system, has been referred to as the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice.

“This experience inspired me to such an extent that I chose a module called ‘Miscarriages of Justice’ for my degree this year.”

After attending the inquiry in June, she carried on watching it on-line.

She says she has been left in awe by the bravery of the sub-postmasters themselves, lots of whom have “lost homes, jobs, freedom and even lives, to keep fighting for themselves and others”.

Isabella is now following different inquiries concerning injustices however nonetheless thinks “the job is far from complete” in the case of justice for the sub-postmasters.

Carrie, 63, first heard concerning the Post Office scandal on the information earlier than watching the ITV drama.

“Once I realised the inquiry was available daily on YouTube, I was off! I was on holiday last February and found myself listening to the personal accounts of sub-postmasters whilst sat on the beach with earbuds.”

She additionally listened to quite a lot of the Fujitsu engineers who have been liable for Horizon as a result of she needed to know extra concerning the bugs and errors within the software program.

“I became somewhat obsessed and backtracked to catch up with a lot of the videos I realised I’d missed from earlier in the inquiry,” says Carrie, who’s retired.

She tried to observe the inquiry day by day and have become a fan of Nick Wallis, a journalist who has been reporting on the scandal for years, even attending certainly one of his tour days and shopping for his guide.

She says former sub-postmasters and campaigners Sir Alan Bates and Jo Hamilton are two of her “inquiry heroes”, in addition to Jason Beer, the lead counsel for the inquiry.

Mr Beer has emerged as an unlikely cult hero because of his grilling of key witnesses on the inquiry.

“He was fantastic to watch,” says Carrie.

She is now wanting ahead to studying the report by inquiry chair Sir Wyn Williams, which is anticipated to be printed subsequent 12 months.

“I would dearly like to see a number of individuals prosecuted, though I doubt this will ever happen,” she says.

Abi Smith, 55, watched the inquiry on-line and says she turned extra drawn into it after listening to former Post Office chief government Paula Vennells give proof.

Ms Vennells, who had not spoken publicly about Horizon for nearly a decade, was quizzed over three days in May in probably the most anticipated look of the inquiry.

Abi, who works in training administration, says she discovered it “quite bizarre” and “incredible” {that a} chief government may declare “she didn’t know so much”.

She was so impressed by the occasions that she determined to knit a put up field topper of Ms Vennells being questioned by Mr Beer.

“I just wanted to make a statement really,” she says.

Abi, whose grandad and aunt used to work for the Post Office, thinks the scandal touched so many individuals as a result of “it’s always been a very trusted institution”.

She describes the occasions as a “tragedy of trust” and thinks it’s going to take a while earlier than anything conjures up her to knit a scene of such impression.

As an expat residing in Australia for the final 12 years, Paul Duckett initially watched Mr Bates vs The Post Office to “reconnect with my homeland”.

“But I was also compelled by concern for the people I lived among for most of my life,” he says.

The 56-year-old important psychologist and college lecturer began posting concerning the inquiry hearings on his YouTube channel.

He is one other member of the Jason Beer fan membership. One of his movies, titled “What makes Mr Beer magnificent?”, at present has 80,000 views.

He says Mr Beer’s wit stood out. “He was sharp, quick to spot when answers were evasive or when witnesses passed off fantasy as fact. He used humour sparingly but effectively, often exposing the absurdity of certain explanations.

“If you requested Mr Beer, I believe he’d attribute the inquiry’s success to the crew round him and, in doing so, he’d reveal his personal magnificence. That humility is certainly one of his defining qualities.”

Although enthralled by the inquiry, Paul is glad it’s now come to an end and hopes “significant motion” will be taken.

Pey Kan Su first heard about the Post Office scandal when his wife mentioned the ITV drama.

After watching online and seeing “the extraordinary complexity of the entire thing”, he decided to attend the hearings in person, going a total of 29 times.

“It has been probably the most eye-opening however uplifting expertise,” he says.

Pey Kan is a litigation solicitor, although he is currently not practising, and an artist. He always carries papers and pencils with him and attending his first inquiry hearing was no exception. He began to regularly draw the room while listening to the evidence.

“Drawing helps one to see. I’ve just a few work of the inquiry hearings, the few that I felt I have to do a portray of in an effort to categorical my ideas concerning the witness and counsel.”

Pey Kan hopes the inquiry will leave lawyers with “meals for thought”.

“I hope we by no means lose the ethical readability to face up once we see the little man being crushed down, and that the general public will all the time again those that want it most,” he says.

Additional reporting by Emma Simpson and Esyllt Carr