ITV viewers have been left outraged following the first episode of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which aired on New Year’s Day.
The four-part drama series follows the true story of mysterious financial losses appearing in village post office tills as a result of a new computer system called Horizon that had been installed across the country.
It saw numerous postmasters wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 for theft, false accounting, and/or fraud.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office follows the story of Alan Bates, who along with his partner Suzanne Sercombe in 1998, used life savings to buy a Post Office branch in Llandudno, North Wales.
Alan, played by Toby Jones, refused to accept liability like many other postmasters and postmistresses, and the Post Office terminated their contract with three months’ notice.
People were quick to take to social media to express their outrage at the injustice suffered by subpostmasters in the first episode.
One said: “I’ve only watched 5 mins of #PostOfficeScandal drama and I’m shouting at TV. Not sure I can watch it!!!”
Another added: “Less than 20 mins in and not sure I can watch this. Sick to my stomach #PostOfficeScandal.”
Someone else wrote: “Sat with a glass of red wine watching the #PostOfficeScandal. 15 mins in, and my blood is already boiling from anger.” A fourth commented: “10 minutes in and I’m fuming already! A crime against good and honest people! #PostOfficeScandal.”
Another agreed: “Only 10 mins in and I’m fuming already #PostOfficeScandal,” as a viewer added: “Already seething #PostOfficeScandal.”
While someone else tweeted: “Just started watching Mr Bates vs The Post office and already infuriated by how these innocent people were treated by the Post Office. #MrBates.”
In December 2019, the Post Office agreed to pay £58million in compensation for false prosecutions based on faulty evidence from the Horizon system. Judge Fraser described the Post Office’s denials about Horizon issues as “institutional obstinacy”. However, the group were only left with £12m – about £20,000 each – after legal costs.
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