THERE’S a memory I often think back to before this nightmare started. It was 2001 and my wife Siema and I had just bought the
local Post Office in Hampstead Heath. We had everything we wanted — kids, a business of our own — and it felt like everything would continue to go to plan, as long as we worked hard. We were in bed one night and I said, “I really hope this bubble doesn’t burst.”
We must have jinxed it that night, because boy did that bubble burst. Less than two years on, everything started to go wrong when we were told we’d racked up a shortfall of £25,000. Like so many other sub-postmasters and postmistresses, the 20 years since have been a hellish roller coaster of being separated while I was sent to jail, losing our family home and having to beg our parents for enough food to feed our children.
We watched ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office from our home in Winchmore Hill. We’re on a big WhatsApp group with hundreds of the other victims and everyone was feeling more or less the same in the build-up to the show: looking forward to it, but also dreading it because there’s so much emotion and suffering. We were worried it would be triggering to see our lives played out on screen again, and that the producers might not fully get our message across. Thankfully, we’ve been surprised both by the show and the huge public and political reaction since.
This story is from the January 10, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the January 10, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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