Post Office scandal victims share hope of turning tragedy to triumph on BGT
Hear Our Voice choir set sights on taking their fight all the way to the King with victory on the ITV talent show
A choir made up of people affected by the Post Office scandal say Britain's Got Talent is helping them fight for justice. The aptly named Hear Our Voice take to the stage tonight for the show's last semi-final.
Made up of victims of one of Britain's biggest miscarriage of justice, the 40-strong group are using the show's global platform for recognition as they continue to push for compensation and for those responsible to be held to account. They've promised a performance to remember tomorrow night in the hope they can take their plight all the way to the King.
Describing the choir as 'therapy', Mark Wildblood says it has been a much-needed outlet after a decade of pain. 'I've been knocked back but this project has started building my confidence,' said Mark, who once ran Upton Post Office on the Wirral, Merseyside.
'If it wasn't for BGT, we wouldn't have had the euphoric positivity that we get from the choir. We haven't come out of it as we don't have closure. We've found an escape from that side of things with this. It affects your work, your personal life. The choir is therapy for us.'
Mark, 62, set up the choir in May 2024 to create something positive out of what they had collectively been through, along with drawing attention to the charities that have been put in place to help the scandal victims and keeping it in the public eye.
'The scandal caused a separation of my marriage and lots of mental and physical health issues, which began just before the pandemic so it was not great for me,' Mark continued. 'But I'm at the back end of it now.'
The choir has been a lifeline for Maria Lockwood, a subpostmaster In Huddersfield, West Yorkshire from 2002-2010. The mother-of-three was wrongly convicted of false accounting and forced to pay the Post Office in the region of £43,000.
Maria, 47, says the choir has brought her great joy after a ark period. 'It's given us a bit of happiness through everything,' she said. 'We spent so long being in our zone, grieving through this. The only time we saw each other was at the inquiry or court cases. There were no nice times until the choir. It's just been amazing.
'I'm still fighting. Mine is quite a complex case and I'm just going round in circles and circles. It takes up so much time of your life as well. Mentally and physically. I can put that aside whilst I'm focusing on Britain's Got Talent.'
She says the choir has been transformative for her. 'My sister says I walk a lot taller now, which is lovely to hear,' she shared. 'Some members say they've got a purpose to get up now. We're doing it for everyone affected. For everyone that's still fighting and for everyone else who's not with us anymore.'
Hundreds of sub-postmasters were accused or convicted of theft and fraud due to the faulty Horizon computer system, developed by Fujitsu and installed by the Post Office. It incorrectly showed financial shortfalls, leading to prosecutions.
Their story inspired award-winning ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which in sparked the Government to announce new legislation to quash the convictions of Post Office employees who were wrongly prosecuted and convicted.
Tim Brentnall, 42, who ran a Post Office branch in Roch, Pembrokeshire, was one those. His conviction for false accounting was overturned in 2021. He admits he had reservations when Mark suggested his choir plans - but now is grateful for the outlet.
'He said 'We're thinking about doing a singing group' and I was like, 'Yeah, see you later!' laughed dad-of-one Tim. 'It just didn't sound like something I'd enjoy. But that first evening, I spoke with my partner, she said: 'Why don't you just do it? You're all friends. Just go and spend some time with your friends and see how you get on.' I'm so glad I did. When it's 40 of us standing together in a room practicing, it builds this real stoic, empowering, bond between us all.'
Despite having his conviction overturned, Tim, like Maria, is still battling for justice. 'People assume we're all sorted but we're a long way off,' explained Tim. 'I had an offer on my claim, but it was less than 20% of my claim.
'There's still a big battle ahead. There's still been no accountability. The people that did this to us, you're talking about Post Office investigators, the board of the Post Office, the people that make decisions about fighting us through the courts, none of these people have been held accountable for their actions.
'We want to keep this scandal in the public eye - and Britain's Got Talent is doing just that.'
The choir has brought their story to a new audience on the talent show and say they want to take their fight all the way to King Charles - by winning the show and performing at the Royal Variety Show.
'Performing on a stage like that in front of the King, it's the biggest public eye we can hope for,' said Tim. 'It gives us a really good platform to get our message across that people are still fighting for what you're due.'
Mark agreed: 'To perform in front of the King would be amazing. It would mean the longevity of this feeling of euphoria. It would be sensational to take it further.'
Mark said he's been overwhelmed by the support they've received by the show's judges and fans. 'It means so much to hear people are backing us," he tells. "We went for a decade of people not really believing us. Now people understand what we've we been through, what we're still going through.'
Promising a 'moving performance', Maria vowed to come out fighting tonight. 'We're not gonna give up,' she said. 'We are real people and we are still affected.'
Tonight's semi-final will see the return of guest judge KSI. He will join Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and Bruno Tonioli as they cast their eye over the eight contenders. These include dancers Idolls and Obsequious, singers Max Fox and Maya Giotea, comic Joseph Charm, magician TK, and variety act Papi.
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