Post Office victim Jo Hamilton hits out at new government: "Just pay it"
"The civil service are running the show and nothing has changed."
Jo Hamilton has criticised the new government, urging ministers to pay victims of the Post Office scandal the compensation that is owed to them after years of campaigning.
Hamilton, whose story as a victim of the faulty IT system which saw hundreds of subpostmasters and mistresses wrongly accused of fraud and theft was portrayed in ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, claimed that "nothing has changed".
During last night's National Television Awards, Hamilton and other subpostmasters collected the Impact Award, and told RadioTimes.com the series has "given us power".
"I thought the new government was going to come in and sort it but they're not," she said in an exclusive interview.
"The civil service are running the show and nothing has changed. There are new ministers but nothing behind the scenes has changed and it would appear that's what we're up against."
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During the ceremony, Hamilton issued a plea to the audiences and viewers at home, urging them to rally behind Sir Alan Bates when he returns to campaigning, noting that there is still a lot to be done.
As part of her speech, Hamilton said: "What I want you to know is that I went to Westminster a couple of weeks back and saw the new minister. And trust me, nothing has changed."
She continued: "Almost all of these people behind me haven’t been paid yet and out of the group of 555, more than 300 haven't been paid yet, including Sir Alan Bates. They offered him 30 per cent of his claim
"He has a plan. So when he comes back to the nation for help, please be there to support him."
As for what she wants the government to do, Hamilton told RadioTimes.com: "Get on with it."
Noting that the Post Office has paid out nearly £260 million in legal fees, Hamilton branded it "nonsense", asking why many of the victims of the scandal are still yet to be paid.
According to a freedom of information request submitted by the Lawyer magazine, the Post Office paid out £256.9 million to 15 law firms and two barristers chambers from September 2014 to March 2024.
"If they'd have just paid everyone in the first place, they could've saved all that," said Hamilton.
"If someone gives a claim that's reasonable, why not pay it? They've cut Alan down to 30 per cent, and they’ve wrecked our lives. He's a modest man so it won’t be a crazy claim, it will be fair. So just pay it. Stop paying lawyers not to pay us."
In response to Hamilton's comments, a Department of Business and Trade spokesman said: "We recognise the immeasurable suffering postmasters have endured and that they have waited too long to receive redress.
"That's why we are working tirelessly across government to bring them some relief with full, fair and swift redress.
"Already we have paid out over £289 million to over 2,800 people across four redress schemes. We have also made 253 GLO offers and introduced a new compensation scheme to speed up redress for those with overturned convictions."
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Mr Bates vs The Post Office is streaming on ITVX now.
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