Post Office scandal: Stockton former sub-postmaster receives compensation
A former sub-postmaster who was wrongly convicted amid the Horizon scandal said he could finally do the things he should have done for 20 years, after receiving a £600,000 settlement.Keith Bell, 76, was a sub-postmaster in Stockton, Teesside, between 1987 and 2002, when he was convicted of false accounting.He was among hundreds of others wrongly prosecuted due to faulty accountancy software used by the Post Office, which showed errors that did not exist."Because of that conviction I lost jobs, I was unable to find work that could support my family, basically, and I became bankrupt," he said.
Last May, the government quashed all convictions which were part of the Post Office scandal and Mr Bell said the U-turn had been a "huge relief".He added daily life had been a "struggle" over the past 20 years, but he was very lucky his customers and friends had been "very kind", while he was aware other sub-postmasters had a "terrible time".
'TV drama inspired me'
Mr Bell had to do 200 hours of community services when he was convicted.He said it was hard to know what compensation he should have received and he did not feel entirely vindicated."There's parts of my life I'll never be able to have over, but now I've got a chance to do things I haven't been able to do," he said."I decided that at my age I wanted to accept the offer that was given to me, I could have appealed for more, but that would have meant the process going on for years."
Mr Bell, who told the BBC in December he had still not received "a penny", said he was inspired to fight for compensation by the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.He said: "I never, ever, thought I'd be in a position to challenge the Post Office, I didn't know enough about IT, I didn't have enough legal knowledge, nor did I have the funds to do it - I just decided I needed to put my weight behind the cause.Chairman Nigel Railton has previously said the Post Office was "learning from the serious failings of the past".Parliament's Business and Trade Select Committee has called for changes to the way compensation was being delivered, due to the ongoing delays.Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas told the BBC in January the amount being paid out had doubled in the last six months and the government was trying to make schemes "less legalistic, less adversarial".
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At least 130 grave sites have been found across Syria so far - but dozens more are believed to be out there, known only to those who dug them out. There is little hope of identification for the thousands dumped there. Many of the guards and officers defected from Assad's regime, joining the rebels or fleeing the country. By 2019, the rebellion had largely been suppressed. Shadi and his brother were released at last, fleeing to exile in Turkey. Then, in December this year, rebel forces overwhelmed Damascus and Assad fled the country and claimed asylum in Russia. With the collapse of the regime, Shadi set to work helping others locate their missing friends and family. But for many there is little hope of ever finding out what really happened to them. 'Everyone, the detainees, and families of the missing, should keep talking about this,' he said. 'All the decision makers who had a role in oppressing the Syrian people escaped, and are now in hiding. 'They've left everybody to pick up the pieces - to deal with what they left behind.' Surviving Syria's Prisons airs tonight on BBC Two at 9pm.
