Jo Hamilton on fighting for justice after the Post Office scandal: ‘I’m not scared of anything or anyone’

In reading this heart-wrenching account of Helen Hamilton’s struggle for justice, I am struck by her indomitable spirit and unwavering determination. Her resilience in the face of adversity is truly inspiring. It’s clear that she has faced immense hardships, yet she continues to fight not just for herself but for the hundreds of others who have been wronged.

This interview was originally published in TopMob magazine.

Upon entering 10 Downing Street on July 5th, Sir Keir Starmer found an email from Mrs Jo Hamilton of Hampshire. This exonerated former subpostmistress, portrayed by Monica Dolan in the ITV1 drama “Mr Bates vs the Post Office,” implored him to take action beyond what previous administrations have done to resolve the compensation claims of the numerous Post Office contractors who continue to suffer from consequences such as imprisonment, disrepute, bankruptcy, or mental breakdown due to a flawed IT system that erroneously indicated they were stealing from their cash registers.

Hamilton mentions that she hasn’t yet gotten a response from the Prime Minister, but acknowledges his schedule must be quite full. However, there was a swift offer for a meeting with Gareth Thomas, the assistant minister in charge of business and trade matters related to the Post Office, who promptly extended an invitation.

“After meeting him, I received the typical excuses from bureaucrats, claiming it wasn’t their fault and blaming my lawyers among other things. How audacious! It was just like a letter I’ve been arguing with a civil servant over for years. So, I fired back a strong response to him.”

Highlighting her persistence as an advocate – evident in the case of Mr Bates vs the Post Office: The ITV1 sequel documentary – Hamilton additionally reached out to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, whom she had previously encountered during his tenure on the Labour select committee probing the scandal.

“We managed well during our appearance at the committee meeting previously. Later, he emailed me from a personal account, which bypasses his bureaucrats. This allows us direct communication. He told me that the business minister is involved and we can only cross our fingers and wait.”

Hamilton, who was mistakenly accused of theft worth £36,000, is also a vocal resident in North East Hampshire. She admires Lord (James) Arbuthnot, portrayed by Alex Jennings in the drama, for his role in unveiling the cover-up and clearing her name. However, upon Arbuthnot’s retirement, she found his Conservative successor, Ranil Jayawardena, disappointing to such an extent that she threatened to challenge him in Parliament, with Jayawardena responding, “I hope you won’t!”

In fact, Jayawardena lost in July to Liberal Democrat candidate Alex Brewer, of whom Hamilton admits, “I just had a run-in with her. I wrote as soon as she got in and she wouldn’t see me. Eventually, she offered me a meeting on 2nd October. So I wrote back and said, ‘As this matter is so urgent, I am now dealing with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the minister directly.’ Stick that up your pipe! She wrote back and said she was glad I was dealing with the people with the real power.”

Some might argue that power is not only held by Hamilton and Sir Alan Bates, who spearheaded the Group Litigation Order of 555 Post Office claimants (as portrayed by Toby Jones in the drama), but rather that it’s a sense of finally being heard. It’s a form of power where they can demand attention—either you listen to me, or I’ll make a fuss, maybe even go to the press. After all this time, it’s exhilarating to be heard at last. For years, we’ve been shouting about this issue, only to be ignored, particularly in Parliament. But now they seem afraid of us. There’s still the usual deceit that they say one thing and do another. However, at least now they acknowledge our existence.

Moments ago, Hamilton was sent a picture by Dolan showing the actor being honored for his impression of her. She’s both thrilled and amazed at how significantly her life transformed when Mr. Bates vs the Post Office was broadcast in early January this year. “My phone began buzzing as soon as the first episode aired, and it hasn’t stopped since.”

Sir Alan’s team is continuing negotiations for his personal financial agreement, much like several others. On the other hand, Hamilton has already reached a deal. The specific amount remains confidential, but my legal representative suggested I propose a number, and we were close to £20,000 from it.

After that point, various more favorable conditions were proposed, leading one to wonder if she now regrets her previous agreement. However, let me clarify: David [her husband] had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. This diagnosis provided us with enough funds to pay off our mortgage and allow him to retire from his gardening work. He was 75 at the time, still working five days a week. I was managing ten cleaning jobs across five days as well. We were essentially running on a hamster wheel, and this situation gave us the choice to decide whether we wished to continue working. Not having a mortgage anymore is liberating. Although we don’t have substantial savings, what we do have is our house. We can choose to sell it and move to a smaller place whenever we desire.

Despite the fact that many are yet to receive reparations, she persists in her advocacy, expressing her disbelief and indignation. “It’s hard to swallow we’re still dealing with this nonsense,” she said. “There’s a 91-year-old individual waiting for compensation. How audacious of them! Just a few weeks ago, I told the minister, ‘She’s 91, so couldn’t someone just pay her?’ I implored, ‘Don’t shortchange her. Simply give her the money.’ They keep telling us they need to be cautious with public funds. But they’re spending double on lawyers what they’re offering us. So who is being reckless with the public funds?”

When I shared Hamilton’s grievances with the Department of Business and Trade, their representative replied: “We acknowledge the immense hardship postmasters have experienced and understand that they’ve been waiting too long for justice. To alleviate this, we are diligently working within the government to provide them with prompt, fair, and adequate compensation. So far, we’ve dispersed over £260 million to more than 2,800 individuals through three redress programs. Additionally, we’ve made 227 GLO offers and established a new compensation scheme to expedite redress for those who have had their convictions overturned.”

Hamilton continues to dedicate approximately ten hours weekly to household chores, skillfully scheduling them around sessions for the seventh and final phase of the statutory inquiry into the Post Office scandal, commencing this month. She’s made a point of regularly attending these sessions, strategically positioning herself within the view of key witnesses like former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells, former business improvement director Angela van den Bogerd, and another former Post Office CEO, Dame Moya Greene.

Is Hamilton feeling agitated by the investigation? “It only makes me more irritated. I take pleasure in observing them squirm while Jason [Beer, KC, the victims’ counsel] reads out offensive things they wrote about me. Paula Vennells claimed that I ‘lacked passion,’ and she was ‘more bored than outraged’ by the story. And there I was, expressionless but relishing every moment. I was seated mere feet away from her when she kept saying she was sorry. As some of the others did. And Jason remarked: ‘Well, you’re all sorry now that it’s all displayed on a screen in front of you!'”

Over the past two decades, I’ve been a keen observer of the Horizon IT system saga, and it’s now 21 years since initial questions about its reliability first surfaced. During this period, the Post Office and government – as the evidence appears to indicate in the subsequent inquiry — seemed to harbor hopes that we subpostmasters would eventually tire of our struggle. However, their wish didn’t come true, and here we still stand, fighting for justice.

Indeed, I concur with Hamilton’s sentiments. “Yet,” I found myself unable to act in the same manner. Overwhelmed by anger, I made a solemn vow to my mother and father as they neared their end, promising them that I would never yield, no matter the trials we might face. As the ITV1 documentary reveals, the number of affected individuals has grown since then.

“I’m part of two large WhatsApp support groups, but I usually prefer to observe and let others offer comfort. I occasionally inject some humor into the conversations. Many people have been through tough times. I guess I was just incredibly lucky that my community rallied around me, as they couldn’t believe what had transpired. Sir Alan doesn’t actively participate in our WhatsApp groups, but he confides in me privately.”

Could there be a possibility for Dame Jo after Sir Alan? “I fear it’s out of reach for me, as I’ve overstepped the mark with them too often. However, I would not decline an OBE if offered, much like how Alan initially refused.”

“Does she find herself troubled by those events during restless nights?” However, your response indicates that the person you’re referring to doesn’t experience nightmares because they’ve coped effectively and grown stronger from it. So, another way to phrase it could be: “Has she been able to move past those difficult experiences without them haunting her in dreams or causing fear?”

Sometimes, I have trouble falling asleep at night as my mind becomes preoccupied with thoughts like, “Why can’t you just compensate people?” My husband goes to bed, and in my head, I start brainstorming who I could reach out to next for my campaign. In essence, I am strategizing mentally, though it’s not about my personal pain but rather the struggles of others. The one thing that still saddens me deeply is that my parents didn’t live long enough to see my case’s resolution. However, such is life.

Once every one of the 555 individuals we serve has received their payment, I’ll consider my work complete and can peacefully depart, no longer needing to say anything more.

2024-09-03 02:39

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