Over three-quarters of former subpostmasters caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal experienced significant health problems as a result.
In its latest publication, the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry’s listening project, In Your Own Words, revealed that scandal victims suffered from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal thoughts.
“They described these issues as having far-reaching consequences in their day-to-day lives,” said the report.
Some told the public inquiry’s listening project that severe medical conditions, such as strokes, diabetes and heart issues, had been brought on by the scandal’s impact on them, and that the stress had caused existing conditions to worsen.
Participants in the survey were victims of what is now described as the widest miscarriage of justice in UK history, which affected thousands of former subpostmasters and Post Office branch workers. Hundreds of those were wrongly prosecuted based on flawed evidence from the Post Office’s faulty Horizon computer system, and many more were forced into bankruptcy after covering phantom account shortfalls that only existed in the Horizon IT system.
More than 300 people have shared their experiences with the listening project.
Human devastation
The report brings home the human suffering inflicted on people as a result of the lengths an organisation went to in an attempt to cover up problems with a major IT project.
It was after the introduction in 2000 of the Post Office Horizon system, supplied by Fujitsu, that subpostmasters and their staff began having problems balancing their accounts.
One respondent to the survey said: “The constant struggle with the faulty machine created immense stress and anxiety. Each day, we were faced with shortfalls that couldn’t be explained or rectified. The pressure of these unexplained losses led to sleepless nights and constant worry about the future of our family and business. The feeling of being unable to trust the very system designed to support our work eroded our confidence and mental well-being.”
The constant struggle with the faulty machine created immense stress and anxiety. The feeling of being unable to trust the very system designed to support our work eroded our confidence and mental well-being Post Office victim
People are still suffering today, years after traumatic events such as being aggressively audited by the Post Office when unexplained account shortfalls appeared.
One respondent described a recent breakdown: “This year, I have suffered with flashbacks to the day of the audit, my arrest and interview under caution, and my eventual dismissal. I have suffered a mental breakdown and been hospitalised for a week , and took nearly three months to recover.
“It is believed that this was brought on by stress and heightened blood pressure. I am currently undergoing CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy]. All the emotions listed above returned after seeing the [TV drama] and realising what had actually happened to me.”
Mental scars
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), PTSD, depression and adjustment disorder are common among victims.
“It would be dishonest of me if I told you I understood what all these mean, but I do notice that I struggle with time keeping, bright lights, deadlines, social situations, spreadsheets, basic admin, confrontations, anything not going to plan, and I am extremely protective,” said one of those affected by the scandal.
Another anonymous respondent told the inquiry listening project: “[I was] under psychiatric care for a few weeks due to having some schizophrenic episodes.”
There have been devastating knock-on effects for those impacted. One mother said: “I neglected my children, and the stress caused me to have a miscarriage.”
The stress began to turn to depression again and my partner put up with several years of me wanting to commit suicide Post Office victim
Another respondent said: “The stress began to turn to depression again and my partner put up with several years of me wanting to commit suicide.”
The experience also put strain on relationships, which led to estrangement. “The Post Office problems had caused us to become estranged, and till that point, I hadn’t noticed the decline in my husband. It wasn’t until he was rushed into hospital with a suspected heart attack that I realised the severity of his mental and physical condition,” one respondent told the public inquiry project.
Leila Pilgrim, secretary to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, said: “The testimonies we’ve heard through In Your Own Words reveal the profound human cost of the Horizon scandal , stories that go far beyond financial loss to touch the very heart of people’s health and well-being.
“We do not take it lightly that people have shared these deeply personal accounts of the mental and physical suffering they have experienced.”
Family impact
In its first report in November 2024, which focused on family and relationships, the In Your Own Words listening project revealed that almost two-thirds of people hit by the scandal have had their personal relationships affected by it.
The figures in the first report also revealed how the children of former subpostmasters experienced bullying, financial issues and mental health struggles because of the scandal.
The ramifications of the mental stress are devastating. In July, when publishing his first report on the statutory public inquiry into the scandal, chair Wyn Williams said he could not rule out the “real possibility” that 13 people took their own lives as a result of their treatment by the Post Office.
The Post Office scandal was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to the accounting software (see timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal below).
