3 days ago
Birmingham postmistress whose life was nearly ruined in Horizon scandal returns to Post Office
Reporter Lee Comley was in Handsworth in Birmingham when the doors to Roopie Gill's Post Office opened.
A former sub-postmistress who at one point thought about ending her life after being wrongly accused of theft has returned to work - at the same branch she left 15 years ago.
Rooprit Gill - known as 'Roopie' - lost her money, home and car when she was accused of stealing money amid the national Horizon scandal.
She was dismissed from running the Post Office at the Wattville Road store in the Handsworth area of Birmingham. It was a business which her father had bought in 1976 and handed down to her.
But she continued to work at the convenience store and now, after weeks of training she's back to take over her family's business.
On her first day back behind the Post Office counter, she said: "There'll always be that hurt in the back of the mind, the fact that it's happened and it's a bad thing, but it's a fresh start now.
"I'm looking forward to having a bit of a routine again and getting back in there and serving my community."
Chair of the Post Office Nigel Railton was there to see Roopie retake her post, and said the day should mark a new chapter in the company's story.
He said: "She's the first postmistress or postmaster that was affected by the Horizon scandal to have come back as a postmistress, I think it's an enormous moment.
"For her to put her trust back in the Post Office is incredible, and it's something that we need now to back that up and fulfil that trust."
Members of the local community have stuck by Roopie throughout the years, and were excited for her new start
Roopie had been a sub-postmaster for five years when she was suspended. She went to court facing charges of theft and false accounting, and was later removed from her role.
Her father saw the impact the Horizon scandal had on his daughter, but never lived to see her name cleared.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of him buying the business.
Roopie said: "I think (my dad is) up there looking down on me and I think he and my mum are both very proud and I think it's a very big milestone."
