Woman singing for postmistress mum in BGT final
A singer who is part of a choir performing in the final of ITV's Britain's Got Talent this weekend said she would be singing in memory of her late mum, who was a sub-postmistress.
Gemma Ellison, from Coventry, is part of the 40-strong Hear Our Voice choir, which is made of up of people affected by the Post Office Horizon scandal.
She joined the choir to represent her mother Janet Bradbury, who ran a Post Office in Shropshire and was one of the original group of 555 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses who took part in group legal action.
In a statement, the Post Office has previously said it was "deeply sorry for the suffering caused to so many people" by its past actions.
Speaking to BBC CWR, Ms Ellison said her mother took on a Post Office in 2003 but did not tell her or her sister until 2010.
"It was meant to be their happy ever after," she said of the business.
"After a couple of years that's when the shortfall started to happen and they put [their own] money in."
Ms Ellison said he mother was eventually forced to move back to Warwick after losing her business and home and struggled to find permanent accommodation.
"She'd always worked hard to own her own home and she'd lost everything and we were angry," she said.
"I think for many years she was frightened that the police were going to knock on her door and drag her away."
Ms Bradbury was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in September 2022, with the family saying that doctors told them that it made worse by long-term stress.
MND is a debilitating and terminal condition, which affects people's ability to move, talk and breathe.
Ms Bradbury died last year, one day after her grandson was born.
After joining a support group for people affected by the scandal, Ms Ellison said the idea for a choir was born.
She described the experience as "absolutely amazing" and said she had "found a new family".
"Being in the choir, is something I'm doing for my mum," Ms Ellison told the BBC.
"I think she'd be really proud and I think she's be so happy at last, that finally, people's voices are being heard and people are being recognised for what they've gone through.
"She'd definitely be in the audience cheering on."
The Post Office/Horizon IT scandal saw more than 900 sub-postmasters wrongfully prosecuted after faulty software suggested money was missing from their branch accounts.
The Post Office said it acknowledged that victims of the scandal needed answers, as well as justice and redress.
A spokesperson added: "The business failed to put postmasters first, did not listen to postmasters, and did not act on concerns postmasters raised with us.
"We are doing all we can to help get victims answers, including fully co-operating with police investigations to help try to put things right."
Fujitsu Group, which developed the software Horizon, said it offered its deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families.
A spokesperson added: "Fujitsu Europe's boss has previously said that the firm has a 'moral obligation' to contribute to compensation for sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted as a result of its faulty IT software."
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