Mark Pougatch talks to former sub-postmistress, Jo Hamilton, a victim of the biggest miscarriage of justice in British judicial history. Played by Monica Dolan in the ITV hit drama series, MR BATES vs THE POST OFFICE, Jo is one of over 700 sub-postmasters and mistresses prosecuted between 2000 and 2014 for shortfalls in their accounts. Jo was persuaded to plead guilty to false accounting but her case should never have come to court.

Here in part 1, Jo talks about how her nightmare unfolded. Noticing a shortfall in her accounts one night, she rang the Horizon helpdesk only for her deficit to double before her eyes. Soon she was in debt, facing prosecution from the Post Office and a possible jail sentence. Her village might have rallied round but her ordeal was only just beginning.

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