Sub-postmistress from West Yorkshire's long fight for justice
Alison Hall is one of hundreds convicted because of faulty software, she lost her job in Liversedge and was given a criminal record
Last updated 8th Jan 2024
A former sub-postmistress tells us after 13 years, she wants compensation and to see those responsible held to account.
Alison Hall was fired from her job at Hightown Post Office on Christmas Eve in 2010.
She's one of 2,700 sub-postmasters and mistresses wrongly accused of stealing money following a fault in the Post Office's Horizon computer system.
Alison said: "My mum passed away before my conviction got overturned, passed away in the September as my conviction got overturned in the April 2020 so she never knew, even though she was fighting with me all the way and disgusted at how I was treated."
Alison goes on to say "it's been 13 years for me, but it's been longer for other people, you know over 20 years and it's a long time. Life shouldn't be put on hold. We just want fair compensation."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the Government's response to the Horizon scandal but said he wanted to speed up the compensation process.
At a PM Connect event in Lancashire he said those caught up in it had faced an "absolutely appalling miscarriage of justice" and "we should do everything we can to make it right".
"I would say that over the last few years my predecessors started the process of doing that, had the inquiry. Actually, as chancellor, I approved the compensation schemes for the first time which are now in the process of being paid out and almost £150 million has been paid out to thousands of people.
"So people should know that we are on it and we want to make this right, that money has been set aside.
"What we are now looking at is how can we speed all of that up?"
He confirmed Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and the Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake were meeting to see if there is "more we can do to speed up some of those processes".
"We will do everything we can to make this right for the people affected. It is simply wrong what happened, they shouldn't have been treated like this."