Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Liversedge woman who was a victim of The Post Office Horizon scandal

Mr Bates vs The Post Office tells how hundreds of people were prosecuted after being held liable by the Post Office for financial discrepancies thrown up by its computerised accounting system.

One of those was former sub-postmaster at Liversedge’s Hightown Post Office, Alison Hall, who spent 10 years battling for justice.

She was sentenced to 120 hours of community service for false accounting in 2011 before finally having her name cleared by the Court of Appeal in 2021.

In a witness statement read out at the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, she said: “I began working for the Post Office as a sub-postmaster at the Hightown branch on February 16, 2005. I had no previous Post Office experience.

“Prior to working for the Post Office I had worked at the local primary school for some 12 years employed as an assistant cook and also as a non-teaching assistant.

"I have also worked at the local Tesco supermarket for approximately five years. Due to working at the school and local supermarket I knew almost everybody in the area.

“I had known that the Post Office was for sale and applied to purchase the business and the adjoining premises.

"After one interview, we were told that our application had been successful and accordingly we sold our own home and took out a business loan to purchase the business and adjoining premises at a total cost of £265,000. The premises adjoining the shop was going to be our new home.

"The business began to grow and consequently we took out a £15,000 loan to expand the premises and the services that we could offer.

“The business was doing so well that in April 2010 we applied for and were approved to take over a disused Post Office in Roberttown, which was very close to where we live.

"Our plan was for my daughter to largely run the branch, with me splitting my time between the two premises.

“On August 28, 2010 I had a visit from a member of staff from the Post Office. The lady who attended was going to update the Horizon system.

"I told her that I had received approximately thirty-six transaction correction slips and that the system showed a shortfall of about £13,000.

"I was at that point relieved that I had someone who could potentially help me to rectify the system.

“Unfortunately, I was offered no assistance and told to close the Post Office immediately.

“I was then subjected to a formal audit in September 2010 and suspended. The auditor said the discrepancies appeared to be from scratchcard sales.

“I attended an interview at the Leeds Post Office headquarters with proof of sales and stock of scratchcards for the period in question. However, they were completely dismissed. They were not interested in my material and refused to look at it."

She appealed her suspension but her employment was terminated and she was charged with theft.

“I have suffered problems with my mental health because of this injustice,” she said.

“My mother died without the knowledge that I was innocent.

"Nothing can undo what me and my family have been subjected to.”