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The Great Post Office Trial

<p>An investigation of the largest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history. It's the story of how the Post Office systematically persecuted honest people, and how a small band of victims fought back in the face of impossible odds.</p>

BBC Radio 4

2024 was the year when the Post Office's victimisation of sub-postmasters became a ubiquitous national story, after the airing of an ITV Drama. "Mr Bates vs the Post Office" was viewed by more than 10 million people, and brought political momentum to the resolution of the ongoing injustices associated with the scandal. Before the election, the government passed landmark legislation to cut through the achingly slow judicial process and speedily overturn hundreds of convictions in one fell swoop. It was a major victory for Sub Postmasters and campaigners - but does it mean the scandal is over?In a new episode of "The Great Post Office Trial", Nick Wallis goes behind the scenes of the efforts to get that legislation passed, hearing from the then Justice secretary and Post Office minister on the complex negotiations against the clock that got it through. And he also hears about the key compromise that helped reduce criticism from the judiciary - but has left some convicted sub-postmasters still out in the cold.He also explores the question of accountability at the top, as the police investigation grinds on, revisiting the evidence given by former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells, which was pushed out of the news cycle by the announcement of the election. And he hears from Sub Postmasters who are still frustrated by the pace and quantity of compensation payments, as more victims of this scandal continue to be put through the ringer in pursuit of the compensation the government has promised; he puts their concerns to Gareth Thomas MP, who has taken over since the election as the minister responsible, and Neil Brocklehurst, the Post Office's interim CEO.Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Design: Emma Barnaby
Research: Artemis IrvineA Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4.

18. Now What?

The Post Office Horizon Scandal has been called the widest miscarriage of justice in modern British history, with the number of former Sub Postmasters whose convictions have been overturned now over 60. Those who suffered prosecution or financial ruin due to errors on the Post Office's Horizon computer system want answers. How could this have happened? Who is responsible?Continuing the series that has helped expose the scandal since 2020, Nick Wallis draws on interviews, documents and the extraordinary revelations spilling out of the ongoing public inquiry. For the first time, the public is getting real insight into what was really going on inside the Post Office.In Episode 17, Nick explores how senior Post Office lawyers and managers reacted in 2013 to the biggest challenge to the Horizon system yet. After MPs forced an independent investigation which identified bugs in Horizon, the Post Office publicly backed their computer system and reaffirmed their faith in the prosecutions they had conducted. But behind the scenes, all hell was breaking loose.  Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Sound Design and Mixing: Arlie Adlington
Executive Producer: Will YatesA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

17. Facing the Music

The Post Office Horizon Scandal has been called the widest miscarriage of justice in modern British history, with the number of former Sub Postmasters whose convictions have been overturned now over 60. Those who suffered prosecution or financial ruin due to errors on the Post Office's Horizon computer system want answers. How could this have happened? Who is responsible?Continuing the series that has helped expose the scandal since 2020, Nick Wallis draws on interviews, documents and the extraordinary revelations spilling out of the ongoing public inquiry. For the first time, the public is getting real insight into what was really going on inside the Post Office.In Episode 16, we hear how newly revealed documents show that the Post Office rejected even internal calls for an independent investigation of Horizon. They instead commissioned a deliberately one sided internal report which never even considered evidence of errors. This report was nevertheless used to justify dismissing Sub Postmasters' concerns and maintaining an aggressive prosecution strategy.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Sound Design and Mixing: Arlie Adlington
Executive Producer: Will YatesA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

16. Closed Ranks

The Post Office Horizon Scandal has been called the widest miscarriage of justice in modern British history, with the number of former Sub Postmasters whose convictions have been overturned now over 60. Those who suffered prosecution or financial ruin due to errors on the Post Office's Horizon computer system want answers. How could this have happened? Who is responsible?Continuing the series that has helped expose the scandal since 2020, Nick Wallis draws on interviews, documents and the extraordinary revelations spilling out of the ongoing public inquiry. For the first time, the public is getting real insight into what was really going on inside the Post Office. In Episode 15, we hear how the Post Office ruined the life of Lee Castleton, a Sub Postmaster based in Bridlington who was taken to court over debts he says came from the Horizon computer system. New evidence reveals that the Post Office failed to investigate Lee's claims of computer errors in depth before taking him to court, and shows that evidence that may have cast doubt on Horizon was known about but not provided at the trial.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Sound Design and Mixing: Arlie Adlington
Executive Producer: Will YatesA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

15. Breaking Lee Castleton

The Post Office Horizon Scandal has been called the widest miscarriage of justice in modern British history, with the number of former Sub Postmasters whose convictions have been overturned now over 60. Those who suffered prosecution or financial ruin due to errors on the Post Office's Horizon computer system want answers. How could this have happened? Who is responsible?Continuing the series that has helped expose the scandal since 2020, Nick Wallis draws on interviews, documents and the extraordinary revelations spilling out of the ongoing public inquiry. For the first time, the public is getting real insight into what was really going on inside the Post Office. In Episode 14, we hear how the Post Office disregarded red flags about Horizon when it rolled the system out, and how flawed and incomplete prosecution policies set the stage for the mass prosecution of many innocent Sub Postmasters.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Sound Design and Mixing: Arlie Adlington
Executive Producer: Will YatesA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

14. The Prosecution Spree

The Post Office Horizon Scandal has been called the widest miscarriage of justice in modern British history, with the number of former Sub Postmasters whose convictions have been overturned now over 60. Those who suffered prosecution or financial ruin due to errors on the Post Office's Horizon computer system want answers. How could this have happened? Who is responsible?Continuing the series that has helped expose the scandal since 2020, Nick Wallis draws on interviews, documents and the extraordinary revelations spilling out of the ongoing public inquiry. For the first time, the public is getting real insight into what was really going on inside the Post Office. Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Sound Design and Mixing: Arlie Adlington
Executive Producer: Will YatesA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

13. Inside the Machine

In this bonus episode of The Great Post Office Trial, hear Nick Wallis' full interview with Post Office CEO Nick Read - the first Post Office CEO to ever give an interview about the scandal.

Bonus Episode: The Full Nick Read Interview

Nick Wallis has been investigating the Post Office Horizon scandal for more than a decade, revealing the true story of the Post Office's persecution of its own Sub Postmasters. A long campaign for justice has forced the launching of a wide ranging public inquiry, which started hearing evidence last year.  The Post Office and the government have also agreed to run three separate compensation schemes to try and make things right. The inquiry is forcing extraordinary evidence to light. It implicates senior staff in stunning cultural failings. But even as this picture emerges, campaigners and politicians following the scandal are ringing alarm bells about how the Post Office is behaving now. Key people who are accused of covering up the scandal are still in their jobs, even as the Post Office claims to have turned over a new leaf. Post Office bosses recently generated fresh outrage by awarding themselves generous bonuses for helping the inquiry complete its work, despite the fact that the inquiry has only just started. Post Office CEO Nick Read has apologised and returned the bonus, after the inquiry rebuked the Post Office directly.  And, as Nick Wallis explores the Sub Postmasters' fight for fair compensation, he discovers that many feel the Post Office is treating them now just as they have treated them throughout the worst of the scandal.In a new edition of The Great Post Office Trial, hearing from people at the heart of a fresh wave of revelations, Nick discovers a shocking truth - the scandal, even as it is being investigated by a public inquiry, is far from over.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Designer: Emma BarnabyA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

12. Nowhere Near Over

In a follow up to the ten-part series The Great Post Office Trial, Nick Wallis explores how campaigners for justice around the Post Office scandal have been continuing the fight, and reveals startling new details on the story which have emerged in court.Since the original series aired, the government has officially launched an inquiry, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams. After controversy over its initially limited powers and scope, it's been widened and given statutory powers. Some Sub Postmasters are also seeking further legal redress, and attempting to pressure the government to cover the Sub Postmasters' costs from the initial trial. The minister responsibe, Paul Scully, sits down for his first interview on the subject with Nick Wallis.As the potential cases of miscarriage of justice work their way through the Court of Appeal, Nick discovers revelatory new documents which cast fresh light on what was going on inside the Post Office as the scandal unfolded.And we hear newly emerged stories of more Sub Postmasters affected, as the full scale of the story becomes clear.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will YatesA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

11. The Reckoning

After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis, gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.In the series finale, the sub-postmasters’ litigation comes to an end - but not everyone is happy. Nick asks what should happen next for the Post Office, and there’s a breathtaking revelation from the Criminal Cases Review Commission.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: David Prest
With Sound Design from Emma Barnaby and Story Editing from Alexis Hood.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

10. What the Hell Had Happened?

After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis, gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.Today, Alan Bates and the sub-postmasters reach the High Court, and the Post Office’s secrets start to tumble out one by one.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: David Prest
With Sound Design from Emma Barnaby and Story Editing from Alexis Hood.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

9. Extremely Aggressive Litigation

After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis, gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.Today, the sub-postmasters have hit rock bottom. Working with the Post Office has failed and their last hope is a long shot lawsuit. But Nick manages to get hold of some crucial documents and a whistleblower which might make all the difference.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: David Prest
With Sound Design from Emma Barnaby and Story Editing from Alexis Hood.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

8. The Big Green Button

After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis, gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.Today, the Post Office is standing firm in the face of political pressure, and Nick explores an explosive intervention from an unlikely source - the sub-postmasters' own union.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: David Prest
With Sound Design from Emma Barnaby and Story Editing from Alexis Hood.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

7. A Call for Help

After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis, gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.Today, the mediation scheme designed to solve the problem is becoming fraught, so MPs step up the campaign of political pressure on the Post Office. And Lee Castleton, a sub-postmaster from Bridlington, tells his story.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: David Prest
With Sound Design from Emma Barnaby and Story Editing from Alexis Hood.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

6. War of Attrition

The extraordinary story of a decade-long battle with the Post Office, fought by their own sub-postmasters. Some call it the widest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history.After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.Today, the rollercoaster ride contnues as hopes of a settlement turns to despair at an apparent change of legal tactics by the Post Office and campaigners face the prospect of a long and seemingly unwinnable courtroom battle.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

5. Follow the Money

The extraordinary story of a decade-long battle with the Post Office, fought by their own sub-postmasters. Some call it the widest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history.After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.Today we hear the part a helicopter crash played in the campaign for justice as the sub-postmasters take their case to Westminster.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

4. Navigating the Matrix

The extraordinary story of what some say is  the widest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history as sub-postmasters take on the Post Office.After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.Today we get inside the story of Sarah Burgess-Boyd, who was just one of hundreds of sub-postmasters charged with theft. We hear first-hand her contemporaneous testimony to her accusers. We also learn about the oldest recognised criminal investigations force in the world - the Post OfficePresenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

3. I Love My Post Office

After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.In this ten-part series, journalist Nick Wallis, gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were shattered and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back.Today we meet the man who led that fight; the UK's Erin Brokovich, Alan Bates,  founder of the Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance. A man who faced seemingly insurmountable odds in trying to take on a national institution but who refused to be cowed.Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

2. The Bloodiest Mind in Wales

After the introduction of a new computer system in the early 2000s, the Post Office began using its data to accuse sub-postmasters of falsifying accounts and stealing money. Many were fired and financially ruined; others were prosecuted and even put behind bars.But many of the accused insisted that they had done nothing wrong and that they were being held accountable for computer errors they could not control.After being contacted by a man who insisted that his pregnant wife had been jailed for a crime she didn’t commit, journalist Nick Wallis started investigating what some are already describing as the widest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history. In this ten-part series, Nick gets right to the heart of the story, as he talks to those whose lives were ruined and follows the twists and turns of a David and Goliath courtroom battle as the sub-postmasters tried to fight back. Could they have been victims of what they saw as institutionalised corporate cruelty from the Post Office?Presenter: Nick Wallis
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

1. The Imaginary Heist

The extraordinary story of a decade-long battle with the Post Office, fought by their own Sub Postmasters. Some call it the widest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history.