
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".
Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
More than £1 billion paid to those wronged by Horizon scandal, Government says
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said money has now been paid out to more than 7,300 subpostmasters across all Horizon-related redress schemes. The announcement comes just weeks after lead campaigner and former subpostmaster Sir Alan Bates said the schemes had 'turned into quasi-kangaroo courts'. Sir Alan told the Sunday Times last month that DBT 'sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses'. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. Many are still awaiting compensation. In figures published on Monday, DBT said £559 million has been paid out to 6,337 claimants from the Horizon shortfall scheme. The data also says that of the 492 subpostmasters who joined Sir Alan Bates in taking the Post Office to court between 2017 and 2019 that have not been convicted, also known as the Group Litigation Order Scheme (GLO), 488 have received £167 million between them. Elsewhere, £245 million has been paid out to 463 subpostmasters who had their convictions quashed by legislation put in place last summer, and £68 million has been paid to those who have had their convictions quashed in the courts, DBT said. Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said: 'Since entering Government, it has been our priority to speed up the delivery of compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal and today's milestone shows how much progress has been made. 'We are settling cases every day and getting compensation out more quickly for the most complex cases, but the job isn't done until every postmaster has received fair and just redress.' Post Office chief executive Neil Brocklehurst said: 'I welcome the news that over £1 billion has been paid to victims of the Horizon IT Scandal. 'Each week we are seeing more people receive their final settlements so they can begin to look beyond this painful chapter of their lives. 'However, I am also aware that more work remains to be done so that all victims receive full redress as quickly as possible and this is an absolute priority for the Post Office. 'And finally, to anyone else who thinks they may have been affected, I encourage you to come forward and apply for redress.'


Belfast Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Gerry Adams wanted to ‘put manners' on the BBC – but growing up the greatness of this TV was overwhelming
The BBC is 'The British Broadcasting Corporation', but nobody calls it that except Gerry Adams. Again and again, very deliberately, as he savours his triumph in the recent libel action against 'The British Broadcasting Corporation', he gives it the full official title — almost as if the 'British' part has connotations of inherent badness. He claims that his purpose in taking the action was to 'put manners' on this British Broadcasting Corporation. There were even suggestions — later denied — that the BBC would consider blocking the transmission of its programmes in the Republic of Ireland, rather than risk further exposure to the country's atrocious libel laws.


BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
'We were friends of the US': Fearful Afghans face Trump travel ban
Ahmad has been hiding in Afghanistan for former Afghan military employee is living in fear of being found by the Taliban, which seized power in 2021 as US forces withdrew from the Central Asian a result, Ahmad is unable to get a job or access medical care, relying on donations from friends outside the country to survive. His son, 12, is unable to go to they are found, Ahmad says, the Taliban "will remove" hope had been refugee resettlement in the US, but - with just a medical check to complete - the process was put on pause by the Trump he hoped. Then, on Thursday he woke to the news that US President Donald Trump had issued a new order banning the entry of Afghan passport holders to the US, citing national security threats."I am not a threat to the United States," Ahmad told the BBC. The BBC is not using his real name because of concerns about his safety."We were friends of the United States," he added. Why are these 12 countries on the list?How nations have responded Everything else we know about the ban - so farTrump's new ban dodges pitfalls from last time, experts sayChad halts US visas in revenge for Trump travel ban Trump's sweeping travel ban came into force on Monday, blocking people from Afghanistan and 11 other countries, including seven from Africa, as well as countries like Haiti and Yemen, from entering the US. There are partial bans on seven other to the ban, Afghanistan was included because the Taliban are considered by the US government to be a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, and the country does not have "a competent or co-operative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents", or "appropriate screening and vetting measures". It also notes a relatively high rate of people overstaying their Trump administration has, however, recently dropped temporary protected status for more than 9,000 Afghans living in the US, arguing its assessments showed the security and economic situation in Afghanistan had those living in Afghanistan are faced with a series of restrictions brought in by the Taliban government in line with its strict interpretation of Sharia ones affecting women - including the enforcement of head coverings, restrictions on travel and education over the age of 12 - amount to a "gender apartheid", according to the United Nations. The Taliban says it respects the rights of women in line with Sharia and Afghan culture.A different UN report from 2023 found there were credible reports that hundreds of former government officials and armed forces members had been killed since the group returned to power in 2021, despite a general amnesty. The Taliban has previously said all Afghans could "live in the country without any fear" - and those abroad should come back and help rebuild the country."There is a general amnesty," Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, Taliban ambassador to Qatar, told the BBC earlier this year. "Countrywide security is prevalent in Afghanistan. Every citizen and traveller can travel to any corner of the country without any obstacles or any difficulties."There are exceptions to Trump's ban - including for Afghans who worked directly with the US military before the Taliban back took control of the country in Ahmad, whose application for resettlement was backed by a former US service member, does not qualify for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) because he did not work directly for the he is far from the only one. Trump to end protected status for Afghans Some 200,000 Afghans have been resettled since the US military's chaotic withdrawal, but there are still tens of thousands more waiting for a have fled across the border to neighbouring Pakistan to wait for a decision to be made on their who spoke to the BBC's Afghan Service, is currently in Pakistan - which has been expelling tens of thousands of Afghans in recent months. If the path to the US is closed to her, she is not sure what to do next."Returning to Afghanistan is not an option for us - it would be incredibly challenging," she said. "Our children have already lost years of education, and we have no hope of safely going back." More than 8,300 family members of US citizens are ready for an interview in Afghanistan, with more than 11,400 others awaiting family reunification, according to US Department of State data shared by who asked to be identified by his nickname, is one of the 200,000 Afghans who have already reached the US, because he worked directly for the US military. He is now a US sister, however, remains in Afghanistan where she and her husband are "living in a hide and seek game", he says. They change their address and city every couple months in order to stay passed the background and medical checks for refugee resettlement, but like the others who spoke to the BBC, they became trapped when the process was paused in latest order has made Mojo, who lives in Houston, Texas, and the rest of his family lose "all our hope completely" ."I wish that he would change his mind, make some exception, change the rules or take his order back and let people have a peaceful life," he said. Pakistan expels tens of thousands of AfghansAfghans hiding in Pakistan live in fear of forced deportationEx-US generals describe chaos of Afghanistan withdrawal The ban also affects Afghans who are not trying to reach the US for Ghafari is studying at Cornell University in New York state, but is currently in Germany for the summer with her young said she began a "frantic" race back to the US on Thursday in order to continue her studies, before the start of the travel ban on ban has put her under "immense pressure" and has made her feel "very vulnerable", the the 30-year-old former politician told the makes it worse, she said, was that she regularly had to return to Germany every few months to maintain her residency status there too. Describing her situation as "precarious", she said she worried about how she could make her regular trips to Germany when the travel ban VanDiver, of AfghanEvac, said the ban broke a promise Americans had made to Afghans over the 20 years they were in the country."This policy punishes people who escaped the Taliban, risked everything to support democracy, are already vetted, were told by the US government to wait," he wrote on social media platform X."They're not threats. They're our allies - and they're being left behind."Meanwhile, many of those still in Afghanistan have other problems to contend one Afghan man in Kabul told AFP news agency: "We don't even have bread, why are you asking me about travelling to America?"Additional reporting by Azadeh Moshiri and Gabriela Pomeroy