‘They Have Deprived Us of Our Lives’ Horizon Scandal Victim Betty Brown | Good Morning Britain

[@DeanoEssex]

Betty can hold her head up high whereas the Post Office cannot. What a disgrace this institute has become. God bless you Betty

[@andydudley1775]

post office ceo will still hold heads high with titles and honors and performence boneses the goverment and justice system sure looked after the post office.

[@philipjohnkaye8890]

Let's not forget, the post office are offering minimal compensation WITH GAGGING ORDERS! Absolutely sick that they are trying to silence victims.

[@davidspear9790]

I don't know why they're trying to gag the postmasters. The truth is already out. Unless, of course, they have more skeletons in the closet....

[@plyboouk7059]

When are the lawyers going to pay?They knew there was a miscarriage of justice and did nothing.That is against their code of conduct. All the lawyers should be sacked

[@kurtgodel5236]

Sick? I'd call that typically British.

[@diane4488]

Their response is as sick, and evil, as the crimes they've perpetrated in the first place. Hoping, I guess, that many of these elderly people will take the money, rather than wait for years more, when they might already be dead It's an ongoing evil.

[@karlmylnere5712]

​@@plyboouk7059some chance , the only thing these lawyers care about is Money , they will connive and dodge and use their knowledge of the law to justify their compliance with the Post Office management and will almost as a certainty be totally untouched for their actions.

[@Diana-lk6gx]

Give this woman back her money Today!!!!! No more excuses. A complete disgrace.

[@James_Doyle83]

No don't giver her money back as she stole the money

[@blue_jay31]

For sure !

[@kurtgodel5236]

Today? That would be totally un-British.

[@geraldandrew3289]

​@@James_Doyle83 are you of sound mind???

[@yeahdefinitely6607]

“I would like them to go through what I’ve gone through for 21 years”. What a woman, get’em Betty!!!

[@CharlieFlemingOriginal]

I'm crying listening to poor Betty say they they can stuff their money she would rather have her husband back as they (Fujitsu and the Post Office) destroyed their lives. I hate the Post Office and Fujitsu SO MUCH.

[@CharlieFlemingOriginal]

@nannieg7622 at 91and STILL to be fighting like this, and it has dragged on so long she clearly never had real chance to grieve for the loss of her husband because Post Office Fujitsu took away final working years and retirement years and replaced it with incredible debt, stress, and branded them criminals.

[@tenkloosterherman]

Fujitsu is corrupt to the core and needs to be made to pay hundreds of millions of compensation very quickly.

[@grumpy8413]

People must go to jail over this, including judges that allowed people to be punished for other peoples failings. People that knew the system was faulty must go to prison and be stripped of all their assets to pay the compensation.

[@karter5351]

Words can't describe the abhorant behaviour of corrupt and incompetent people at the Post Office who shattered these people's lives. When you see the likes of Adolf Bradshaw in the enquiry, you can just see the calibre of the people that Betty had to deal with. Go get them Betty, the shoes on the other foot now.

[@Padraigp]

Also how is it acceptable to ask a client to lie under oath in a court of law and lead people to plead guilty when they are not guilty? I can understand somone whos a criminal lying and saying they are innocent but how is it OK to advise somone to plead guilty? When they are not guilty? You're telling that person to lie in court! That should not be acceptable as a thing at all. The whole point of a court of law is to get to the truth but then the lawyers charged with that are telling their own clients to lie? How is that allowed? It's not allowed to falsely go to a police officer and admit to a crime you didn't commit because its considered a sort of obstruction of the law right? I thought that was a thing if you said I'm jack the ripper I did it you'd be charged with obstructing justice by doing that no? So how can lawyers tell innocent people to say they are guilty.? I can't get my head around such a false basis? I can't even understand how it was possible for people to be charged with stealing money with no evidence of them having the money? Like if you charged me with stealing your purse and I didn't have your purse or didn't use your card in a shop how could they charge me?

[@Threadbow]

Absolutely 💯 %

[@andydudley1775]

i agree the goverment and justice system looked after their own the ppublic was habitualy targeted take note .the only people we can trust as Fact is these victims computor weekly and private eye .not the goverment or justice system we clearly seen what they think of the truth and justice it a system thats being exploited by the rich to get away with crime by prices us out in silence or else.

[@clickpositive]

Why did the politicians allow the post office to be able to prosecute people themselves; there was no rule of law. The post office bosses profited from the errors and the convictions; so why bother to fix their ways. Now, we know they should have left all prosecutions to the Crown.

[@martiwaterman1437]

I’m following this story from across the pond and it’s astounding. I’m pained by all the suffering inflicted on these victims of the Post Office. What I learned that is also infuriating is that the British government even after this fraud was exposed gave 3 billion in contracts to Fujitsu. Heads at the top of this criminal pyramid must roll.

[@grahamlong6870]

Yes, £3 billion to Fujitsu, and that is to put in a system which controls our defence programme! What price our protecting ourselves against an aggressor with these clowns in charge?

[@scanipoos]

100 % behind all the postal workers who went through this it’s absolutely appalling. How awful for them

[@X94Caz]

Thank you. If I hadn't worked 3 jobs a day I would have lost everything. I had 3 properties on rent and didn't need to take money from the PO. I had probably 1m in property property value but was enjoying a stable career.

[@diorocks5858]

The people of this country want justice and money should be paid to you now

[@carolrichardson5259]

If it wasn’t for the people currently running post offices and needing our support I would boycott the post office. The more I hear about the treatment of innocent people the worse this gets. Betty Brown is amazing bless her.

[@Threadbow]

​@nannieg7622 does that harm the little offices run as businesses by individuals? My local post office in a shop. Geez the woman was so rude to me. Maybe she's under stress from this?

[@Threadbow]

I agree they need our support. But so many government departments are crooks and we need to clean up, hold those responsible to account. They need reminding that THEY WORK FOR US. a concept perhaps forgotten these days.

[@andydudley1775]

@nannieg7622 i no sub post master needs to be punished if we did this.poor people invested in post office still.

[@Steve14ps]

Paula Vennels, look this lady in the face and explain to her your actions and those of the Post Office

[@andydudley1775]

oh she would and has done she well protected by the goverment can't you tell this is about greed with no shame.

[@OzStomper]

too busy preaching to the vulnerable

[@Steve14ps]

@@OzStomper Not for much longer, a consistory court awaits

[@blrr5blrr]

This is SO disgusting. I think all the older people need compensating first. Anyone much older with less years to live and anyone with a serious health conditon that might not have long left. All of those should get paid first. That makes complete sense

[@ElaineSutton-sv5og]

I think same as you.

[@X94Caz]

I was 42 now I'm 62 still trying to clear my name. They are praying for us to die. I'm ex military with an exlampery record, I was told I was the only person experiencing this. I lost my career and my business. How can they quantify the compensation. I had doubled my taking in under 5years but was still tried as a criminal.

[@jamesbowskill362]

Unfortunately we live in a World where the Establishment rules the 'little people' & as part of this cabal, sunak will make sure HIS friends ARE WELL rewarded, as per the PPE & furlough scandals, where payments were made to these scummy people within 4 weeks..........................NOT 25 YEARS as per this scandal, when the little people WILL BE EXPECTED TO GROVEL FOR THE CRUMBS.......as usual.

[@blrr5blrr]

I hope you get millions ! I cant see how this isnt going to go in your favour now. The story will have been reported all over the world. Theres too much pressure on all concerned now @@X94Caz

[@CC-uq4hu]

I agree❤

[@paulineashcroft1485]

Just when you think that you cannot be any more shocked and disgusted by this scandal you hear Betty's story. The Post Office and Fujitsu must not get away with this.

[@PDB1234]

Totally disgusting They all knew there where errors but still blamed the post masters

[@sandrataylor7599]

Betty is what we need more of in this country. A lady of a certain age with huge experience of life & not afraid to speak her mind & say it how it is. She has been treated disgracefully by her former employers at the Post office, along with hundreds of others. Hearing her speak made my blood boil. This is a lady who has worked all her life & never asked for anything & yet her life was pretty much destroyed by the complete arrogance & utter contempt she received from those at the top. God Bless you Betty!!! I know no amount of money can compensate for what you went through, but you have an amazing spirit & I send you best wishes for the future ❤

[@BaronB]

Why is no one looking at the justice system? Serious questions have to be asked. Who passed these rulings?

[@ftumschk]

If the evidence (i.e. the Horizon data) was incorrect and the court didn't know that it was, then it's hardly the court's fault. Judges/magistrates and juries can only act on the evidence put before them.

[@johncooper8040]

True that the court was misled but it should be noticed all these upstanding in their community older generation who had been vetted to serve as sub postmistress turning to crime?

[@ftumschk]

@@johncooper8040 As the cases were fairly evenly distributed across the country, I doubt that many courts would have seen enough cases to detect a pattern. I seem to recall that the number of Horizon-related prosecutions was about 50 per year, and there are more than 100 Crown/High Courts in the UK. So, statistically-speaking, a court would only see one post-office prosecution every two years. Hardly enough to cause alarm bells to ring.

[@guitardee1]

I wonder if the average Japanese person is aware of this. Fujitsu is a Japanese company and to find out that one of your own companies has behaved in this manner would be shameful

[@andym.6141]

There’s very little awareness about this in Japan. If this was happening in Japan I am in no doubt that senior executives would be hauled over the coals and obliged to apologise on national television.

[@ftumschk]

In this case, we're talking mostly of UK Fujitsu staff, many of whom transferred across from ICL when Fujitsu took them over. Also, let's not underestimate the other party involved, namely the largely British "management" of Post Office Ltd.

[@guitardee1]

@@ftumschk yes indeed. What has shocked me is the amount of buck passing and obfuscation by those involved. Ruined lives - what compensation can possibly be enough? At the very least some heads must roll and bonuses returned

[@MackerelCat]

Fujitsu is hated in Japan for similar problems they have caused there! I imagine the average Japanese person would be sympathetic.

[@mikeellis4345]

They have no idea. I have friends in Japan who are not aware of any scandal attached to Fujitsu.

[@OH2023-cj9if]

This is so bad. The same is happening to people working in Magistrates and Crown Courts right now with the software called Common Platform. Errors from day one, faults, all being blamed on workers. Groups were set up to tell people it is their fault and this is still happening to people after 3years. Fujitsu has backdoor or remote access to every Magistrates and Crown Court case. There is no audit function so tracks are covered. Workers are told to find a way around problems, such as calling agencies to make sure they have everything, to check forms, orders and documents have been sent, it's all been featured on radio and TV. Public safety is at risk, people have the wrong offences against them and can be mis-sentenced. The CPS know it is bad as they will not use it. The whole legal system is against it .

[@ftumschk]

Presumably "Common Platform" is the latest incarnation of the ill-fated "Libra" project? I believe that was also run by Fujitsu.

[@johncooper8040]

Absolutely sickening. There has to to be some lengthy jail sentences or there simply is no justice in this country.

[@lindsey6421]

I work in a post office and when balancing last week everything was fine and balancing correctly and I did the final declaration and suddenly it jumped -£300 then I declared again (changing no totals) it jumped to -£260 did the same thing and suddenly there were no discrepancies. Horizon is still used and it’s still flawed.

[@B7S5-ed6vc]

Unbelievable! 😕

[@ajj4860]

Watching this through tears. I stand by you Betty.

[@blrr5blrr]

Her husband dying and not finding out that they were innocent, is akin to Keith Bennett's mother dying on the moors, without ever finding her son's grave !

[@FateBoost]

4:20 - it’s basically how universal credit works. Even if the govt is at fault for an overpayment, they still expect you to pay up as it’s money missing from the public purse. They are trying the same trick at the post office as that’s also govt owned.

[@ElaineSutton-sv5og]

I'm in tears listening to her

[@lindacraig7486]

With you. No story has ever affected me so much. Beyond gut wrenching!

[@richardfox2865]

This just gets worse and worse... unbelievable; many people need to do serious time behind bars. The Post Office is an utter disgrace.

[@derekgillan7314]

Post office, PAY THIS LADY!

[@jogolock1190]

My whole soul pains for these innocent people while guilty people running the Post Office and Fujitsu are still getting away with this absolute scandal.

[@ajalle130971]

Absolutely disgusting. I feel so deeply sorry for people. And to be told you’re the only one. Shame on them 🤬

[@steveshepherd2712]

The post office was given the title. " Royal" so would be nice to hear what the King thinks about it behaving like a Mafia organization shaking down the little guy 😠

[@jcarr9865]

A World War 2 veteran and he passed away before he got his money back with compensation - ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING she should get 7 figures today, not that it will ease the pain.

[@lindacraig7486]

There is no amount of money that can undo the utter decimation of these peoples lives. The greed, corruption and abhorence. Want to cry!

[@kevinwoolass5946]

I hope ITV, follow this mess all the way, we want to see justice and compensation. If no one goes to prison then the British justice system is a farce.

[@suzyqualcast6269]

5 weeks tokenism, half suspended, happen.

[@nicholaskelly1958]

Bless Her. Betty is absolutely correct the Post Office have behaved absolutely abysmally.

[@JoeMcGrath-w7i]

And none of the post office management are to face criminal prosecution for there hands in this scandal 🤬🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@luciavalente1002]

I would like to know where the money went? The system had errors and postmasters had to pay for the 'shortfalls.' Yet, there were no shortfalls - so where is that money?

[@extrude22]

No money was lost. The system just thought it did. This occurred because many of the bugs caused transactions to be duplicated.

[@lindacraig7486]

There was no money. Simply a computer error.

[@adamgregory5274]

According to the Drama, it was ploughed back into the PO's profits.

[@extrude22]

@@adamgregory5274 after the post masters paid it back to the post office

[@ftumschk]

@@extrude22 The postmasters lost huge amounts of money, because they were contractually obliged to reimburse the Post Office for any losses at their branch. Some postmasters lost their life savings and/or their homes in the process.

[@WilliamjameswestWEST]

They took everything.😮😮😮😮😮 of them..😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@FACELOWNER]

Fujitsu has a value of 25.5 BILLION !!!!! get Betty paid tomorrow, shame on you Fujitsu and shame on the Post office.

[@michealpercy1741]

Its time to name names of the evil people of the post office who committed these awful lies. May they receive long prison sentences.

[@FlashGormless]

Fujitsu should be banned from UK , and no more contracts given! Such poor quality programmimg is a joke. This poor woman's life was ruined by POL they need jailing.

[@howardosborne8647]

These thieves from the Post Office and Fujitsu are going to have a very hard time in any UK prison when they are sentenced.

[@waynejones750]

Absolutely disgusting.

[@gilbertmoyes2918]

With Government pushing for cashless societies, this is just a foretaste of what is on the horizon. The Post Office and Fujitsu have given us this debacle, The Banks and money markets worldwide keep giving us re sessions. Computer Hackers keep attacking companies. So what do you thing the banks and governments will say to you when suddenly your bank account disappears or is empty. Governments can't stop the misuse off your private data, so how can they guarantee a cashless society working.

[@1961-v9k]

I read a book about this years ago. I can not believe it has taken this long to come to the publics notice.

[@CC-uq4hu]

This poor woman! 😢this is what my father would say is bare faced stealing from an honest woman. Father was from Leeds😢

[@dejayne8246]

This is horrendous!! Give Betty her money back now. For all that time the money must have been accumulating somewhere but they still kept blaming the post masters.

[@warren6891]

Why has the government not payed up for the failing. Why did the government do nothing till it was show on a very well done itv programme the terrible treatment of innocent people. And let's see the managers of the post office up in court and the IT company banned from all UK public services. Shocking but such a good programme well done itv.

[@leonhughes134]

This is completely unacceptable

[@bteuben-faber8215]

It is disgusting everytime the more is discovered about this decennia-long crime against normal citizens! What a shame to your country ... and I can't even imagine all the traumatic events all these postmasters & their family has gone through. Such a lovely lady and nevertheless ... nothing is payed to her!!! But .. she is honest to God and the people around her. Once the judgement will come for people who loved money above the people around them! No priesthood or lies, nor lost-memory to save you then! May God give wisdom to the judges and rest/happiness for ALL the victims. ❤ Love from Holland

[@vickydimitriou6156]

More and more stories just devastated for these poor people, where is the justice for them all.

[@Teenibash1969]

I notice today the compensation manager is stepping down. Delaying tactics? 😮

[@mikeellis4345]

Disgusting treatment of a hard working lovely and sorely grieving lady. She’s just one of many people who were trampled on by the bullies of the Post Office.

[@ingridlarssen7483]

I wonder why the elderly 91 year old Ex Sub Post Mistress has a sharp clear thinking brain and an exacting VERBATIM MEMORY, yet the Fujitsu Software Engineer who wrote the software for the very VIP CROWN POST OFFICE & ACCOUNTINH SYSTEM, who is so much younger than Betty, yet is struggling to remember his own involvement? If he had Alzheimer's then a Test needs to be ordered by The Lawyers representing the Post Office Sub Masters - Mistresses! The Crown 👑 should automatically agree 👍😅💯!

[@Tom_murray89]

People need to be compensated and cleared asap

[@mzo.7333]

And someone jailed the way they jailed innocent people

[@aficio698]

If I had the money I would pay Betty wat she is due. An example of corporate dishonesty and greed. Utterly vile wat these companies/individuals have done. And 2 think they paid themselves salaries and bonuses with these monies. Reprehensible!!

[@davidrobertson5700]

Betty you are all heroines and heroes to us. Love from Great Britain ❤🇬🇧

[@freeassange5151]

This lady should have been running the post office

[@henrietta1066]

Why didnt the sub postal victims contact other post office branches throughout UK.

[@OzStomper]

Because the Post Offi e threatened them with withdrawal of the licenses. They were scared of what the PO would do!!!!

[@tinaturner134]

Betty is a fantastic person and I hate the post office right now things need to change

[@geralduk631]

The question yet to be asked: What was the underlying reason for the cover-up? We have heard that Post Office (POL) decisions were about “..protecting the brand”. This was essential as they must have been planning on privatisation and the £billions to be made as the major institutional shareholders did with the Royal Mail sell-off in 2013/15. The "value" of POL was in their USP, Horizon. So, Horizon had to be defended at any cost including wrongful convictions, bankruptcy, prison, even suicide.

[@sherimillman53]

Keep this in the news

[@johnharrison8857]

I reckon that the Post Office Horizon system could be similar to the so called Smart meters being installed by electricity and gas fuel providers….avoid them like the plague just in case…..

[@Dude-etiquette]

Still waiting for post office leaders to resign in disgrace, not given boards and committees and for ministers to be fired

[@Jivan-w3n]

Betty keep speaking We all need to hear your story The nation is with you!!

[@OutRAjious]

This is what JAILS are for , punishing the arrogant powerful

[@kurtgodel5236]

Aww bless!

[@42Barley]

I have been watching the enquiry this week and there is no wonder why the wheels are grinding very slowly.

[@jeffreyharris3887]

Corporate Thugs

[@X94Caz]

I was locked in a small overheated office in Birkenhead Police station. I was interrogate for over 5 hours. Without a sip of water.

[@X94Caz]

I did not need PO money I had 3 properties. I was ex military with an exemplary record. I had invested my life in this to have a career to retirement. Why did I get told I WAS THE ONLY ONE.

[@WilliamjameswestWEST]

This country is a disgrace.

[@Dude-etiquette]

Where are the people who treated this lady with abuse and disgusting behaviour, show your face and be accountable

[@mpat100]

Blessings good health and good luck for Betty and her family

[@frankriley845]

Dear Betty stay alive

[@pagliacci2942]

Strong woman. I don't know if I could have weathered such a stressful situation.

[@vfury9686]

Absolutely disgusting. Poor people.

[@Gibbonomics]

Watching this story from the US......pretty shocked at what has happened to these poor folks. What puzzles me is why didn't the shear number of alleged "thefts" raise eyebrows? Surely, just from a statistical point of view someone should have dug deeper for facts? That the software problems were known, and no one said anything is heinous. Prayers for the victims of this horrible situation🙏

[@mindfulawareness1]

National disgrace and humiliation. Corporate crime, but can they identify, prosecute, and jail any big whigs?

[@umist123]

The process must go on until each and every guilty party is put away for prejury and prevertion of justice....

[@peterjackson2625]

I don't believe that Horizon system was full of glitches, faults and "bugs" that caused the shortfalls. That is just a fiction that the PO and Fujitsu are putting out to deflect attention from the fact that they were criminally stealing from their subpostmasters.

[@ftumschk]

I can't see how that could happen unless the Horizon system was making direct debit transfers from the post-office counter to a secret bank account. Despite the "drains-up" investigation that's been going on for 2 years, we've seen absolutely no suggestion that this was happening.

[@blrr5blrr]

The Post Office must have known for ages now, that this documentary was coming out. Because it seems 'very' coincidental, that only 1 week after the documentary airs . . . i get a leaflet through my letterbox, telling me that the post office are now going to be delivering people's medical prescriptions ! Almost like they're trying to paper over the cracks and look good

[@PeterCompson]

Why are they not considering Long -Long Prison services for them found guilty who work for the Post Office, UK Government & the Company that processed the Electronic information in the UK then them that knew for years & years Makes me ashamed to be British

[@IanMay-g5u]

Penitentiary Paula! 😂😂😂 That is a good one!

[@GaryV-p3h]

It's time to take back control of this country, time to put people before profits, public services before personal greed & rebuild the communities the Tories have spent the last 14 years deliberately trying to destroy.

[@paulthomas3841]

Aaarrreee Bless her,

[@dafinker3443]

Hard indeed to imagine the weakness of those who did these sinful acts .

[@finleyplympton]

Patterson at Fujitsu should be convicted

[@michaelread1974]

That's the unvarnished truth, they are unfit for purpose and should be jailed.

[@OutRAjious]

Sweet Betty…

[@anthonywilson8998]

Why would people take money if they had to pay it back anyway. There is a lot more to this than a bug. Ibelieve this was all a plan to get money back into PO coffers. to ensure profits. Unfortunately it was overdone and excessive. The more you hear the more ASIT sounds like torture. by people in both corporations. Could all this have been a plan ??

[@ftumschk]

If the PO wanted to make more money, all they'd have to do would be to add a few pence to their more commonly-used services. No need to go to the trouble of building a massive (and hugely expensive) IT system to do that.

[@biling7636]

what I would like to see is justice PRISON is the only answer.

[@WilliamjameswestWEST]

GO BETTY ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@dogzero1]

God I hate the Post Ofiice now. I hate them. I am so emotional for these poor people. Vennels needs to be in prison along with the other PO execs that knew that the Horizon system was flawed.

[@jablot5054]

The Post Office has many innocent people working there who have done nothing. Don't hate them.

[@andygreggs]

lets not forget The Infected Blood victims 3000 plus infected and died, Parts of families wiped out , The enquiry suggest infected products were knowingly used. 40 years on 1 soul dies every 4 days and still no compensation.. Please do an in-depth look at this the largest NHS treatment disaster in history

[@JudithGrainger]

Typical the way the UK is being run today. Sit back and only react when problems become public. Our leadership is pathetic. It is so sad the UK is failing all our past hard working population. The Governments have known of serious issues for many years but do nothing. This is not about “being politically correct “ or not upsetting the minority, this is about leadership and looking after he people who pay taxes.

[@saraswatkin9226]

No amount of compensation will be enough for the injustice these people have suffered. The uk scammers gatekeepers the judiciary and lawyers should be held liable and accountable.

[@WilliamjameswestWEST]

ROYAL MAIL...WHERE IS THE KING?????

[@peeg09]

I love the FIGHT she has. Great woman.

[@gdwlaw5549]

I rather disliked the UK since Brexit and now I hate it

[@mzo.7333]

How do you even compensate this? Evil crooks!! Someone needs to go jail

[@Moira-lr5bp]

Just heard this morning about a lady postmistress who died of cancer before she could get compensated and cleared , everyone at the post office who knew there was a big blip in the Horizon system needs to be in prison ,shame on everyone of them may karma catch up with them ,

[@stanthemafia]

Boils my blood

[@Jp67-n6b]

Where are the whistleblowers?

[@caseykasem2003]

I only have one question which was also asked by Jo when told that that the Post Office had no right to prosecute her because the investigator found no evidence of theft. "What kind of people are these?"