This week, Jacki and Lyle discuss a subject that has gripped the nation as a result of a truly extraordinary drama series which aired on ITV earlier this month - Mr Bates vs The Post Office. Starring Toby Jones, Monica Dolan and Julie Hesmondhalgh among other, this exceptional dramatisation of the Horizon IT scandal, otherwise known as the British Post Office scandal, depicts one of the biggest miscarriages of justice ever witness in the United Kingdom. Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for theft, false accounting or fraud as a result of the flawed Horizon accounting system, created by IT juggernaut Fujitsu. Incidentally, as is discussed in this episode of the podcast, this system is still in use today. Jacki and Lyle analyse the impact the ITV drama has had on the ongoing campaign for justice for the victims of this scandal, led by the inspirational Alan Bates. Jacki asks how it was only when this drama was broadcast that the government started to take notice, and why the Post Office didn't act when the crisis was first discovered. Lyle then discusses the involvement of Paula Vennells, former Post Office CEO who has recently handed back her CBE after a petition for her to do so garnered over a million signatures, and current Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who was Minister for Postal Affairs in the coalition government and refused to meet with Alan Bates in 2010. Jacki and Lyle finish by discussing the lack of leadership within the Post Office and the effectiveness of the response to the outpouring of support from the British public in light of the excellent ITV drama.

Head over to ITVx to watch the brilliant Mr Bates vs The Post Office: https://www.itv.com/watch/mr-bates-vs-the-post-office/10a0469/10a0469a0001

Artwork by Dimoso

Music by Lyle Fulton

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