Post Office inquiry into scandal-hit ‘super fan’ ends

People with no connection to the Post Office have told the BBC how they were fascinated by the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.

It almost became a box office hit – racking up over 20 million views on YouTube – largely helped by the ITV drama Mr Bates v Post Office which brought the scandal to wider public attention.

It was the story of ordinary people going about their working lives who were victims of a faulty IT system, with disastrous consequences. Some were financially ruined, some went to jail. Some died waiting for justice.

The plight of the sub-postmasters inspired many, and some “superfans” avidly followed every step of the inquiry online and in person.

These “superfans” told the BBC what caught them off guard and what they hope now that the inquiry is over. The 225-day hearing involved 298 witnesses..

Anthony Abdul reckons he’s one of the few “superfans” who hasn’t watched the ITV drama. Instead, he heard about the scandal on the news and would watch the inquiry online at home, finding it “deeply moving and provocative”.

“The more they got into it, the more agitated I became,” says Anthony.

That’s when he decided to attend and took time off work to go. Anthony, a freelance advertising copywriter, says he was “very lucky” that his boss let him take nine days of paid vacation yesterday.

His colleagues also supported his decision to participate and regularly asked him for updates.

“I think it reflects the wider importance that people place on the inquiry and I can’t think of anything that has the interest to unite the public like this.”

Anthony would post on X during the inquiry and make friends online with others interested in the story. He says he’ll be interested to see if they want to be “Twittermates” or if we’ve reached the end of our journey.

And now that the inquiry is over, he says: “Well, I’ve got to get back to work!”

Isabella Thomas, 19, attended the inquiry for a week’s work experience over the summer.

“I’m truly humbled to be in the presence of so many incredible people, working to ensure that justice is served to those who have suffered from it,” says the second-year law and politics student. deserve it”.

Scandalwhich led to the prosecution of more than 900 sub-postmasters because of incorrect information from the Horizon computer system, has been described as Britain’s most widespread miscarriage of justice.

“This experience inspired me to such an extent that I chose a module called ‘Miscarriages of Justice’ for my degree this year.”

After attending the inquiry in June, she continued to look him up online.

She says she herself was awed by the bravery of all the postmasters, many of whom “lost their homes, jobs, freedom and even their lives to keep fighting for themselves and others.” .

Isabella is now pursuing other inquiries into the injustices but still thinks the “job is not done” when it comes to justice for all postmasters.

Kerry, 63, first heard about the Post Office scandal on the news before watching the ITV drama.

“Once I realized the inquiry was available daily on YouTube, I was hooked! I was on vacation last February and found myself listening to the personal accounts of all the postmasters while they were on the beach with earbuds. was sitting.”

She also listened to many of the Fujitsu engineers who were responsible for Horizon because she wanted to understand more about the bugs and errors in the software.

“I became somewhat obsessed and went back and watched a lot of videos,” says Carrie, who is retired.

She tried to watch the daily inquiry and became a fan of Nick Wallis, a journalist who has been reporting on the scandal for years, even attending one of his tour days and buying his book.

She says former subpostmasters and campaigners Sir Alan Bates and Joe Hamilton are two of her “inquiry heroes”, along with Jason Bear, the inquiry’s lead lawyer.

Mr Beer has emerged as an unlikely cult hero thanks to impeaching key witnesses in the inquiry.

“That was fantastic to watch,” says Carey.

They are now looking forward to reading the report by inquiry chair Sir Wayne Williams, which is expected to be published next year.

“I want to sue a lot of people, although I doubt that will ever happen,” she says.

Abi Smith, 55, watched the inquiry online and says she became more interested after hearing testimony from former Post Office chief executive Paula Vanilles.

Ms. Venelles, who had not spoken publicly about Horizon for nearly a decade, said: He was interrogated for three days in May. In the most anticipated appearance of the inquiry.

Abi, who works in education management, says she found it “quite strange” and “unbelievable” that a chief executive could claim she “didn’t know that much”.

She was so moved by the events that she decided to make a post box topper of Ms. Vanilles being questioned by Mr. Beer.

“I just wanted to make a statement,” she says.

Abhi, whose grandfather and aunt worked for the Post Office, thinks the scandal touched a lot of people because “it has always been a trusted institution”.

She describes the events as a “tragedy of confidence” and thinks it will be some time before something else inspires her to create a scene of such impact.

As an expat living in Australia for the past 12 years, Paul Duckett initially looked to Mr Bates v Post Office to “reconnect with my homeland”.

“But I was also compelled by the concern of the people among whom I had lived most of my life,” he says.

The 56-year-old critical psychologist and university lecturer began posting about the inquiry hearings on his YouTube channel.

He is another member of the Jason Bear fan club. One of his videos, titled “What Makes Mr. Beer Great?”, currently has over 80,000 views.

They say that Mr. Beer’s intellect was remarkable. “He was quick and sharp when answers were evasive or when witnesses passed off fantasy as fact. He used humor sparingly but effectively, often exposing the absurdity of certain explanations.

“If you asked Mr Beer, I suspect he would credit the success of the inquiry to the team around him and, in doing so, show his own glory. That humility is one of his defining characteristics. “

Although affected by the inquiry, Paul is glad it is now over and hopes “meaningful action” will be taken.

Pee Kan-soo first heard about the post office scandal when his wife mentioned the ITV drama.

After looking online and seeing the “extraordinary complexity of the whole thing,” he decided to attend a total of 29 hearings.

“It’s been the most eye-opening yet motivating experience,” he says.

P Kahn is a litigation lawyer, although not currently practicing, and an artist. He always carries paper and pencil with him and his attendance at the first inquiry hearing was no exception. As he listened to the evidence, he regularly scanned the room.

Drawing helps to visualize. I have a few paintings of inquiry hearings, some of which I felt I should paint to express my thoughts about witnesses and counsel.

P Kahn hopes the inquiry will leave lawyers with “food for thought”.

“I hope that we will never lack the moral clarity to stand up when we see the little man being killed, and that the public will always support those who need it most,” They say.

Additional reporting by Emma Simpson and Eselt Carr