Oldest Post Office scandal victim rejects higher payout as 'still not good enough'

The oldest surviving victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal has rejected an increased offer of compensation, saying it is "still not good enough".

Betty Brown, 92, was originally offered less than a third of what she had claimed for, but she has now received a new offer of 60%.

However the former sub-postmistress told the BBC justice was still being denied.

Post Office minister Gareth Thomas, who had previously promised to look at her case, said it was always the government's priority to pay as much redress as it could.

Betty said she was forced out of her branch in Country Durham in 2003 after she and her late husband spent more than £50,000 of their savings to cover shortfalls that did not exist.

It was the faulty software that made it look like money was missing from their branch.

Her post office had been one of the most successful in the region but she was later forced to sell it at a loss.

The Horizon IT system was responsible for more than 900 sub-postmasters being wrongfully accused of theft, with many being prosecuted and some even being sent to jail. The scandal has been described as one of the widest miscarriages of justice in the UK, and was the subject of ITV drama "Mr Bates vs The Post Office".

"It absolutely destroyed my whole life," she told the BBC.

She thanked Mr Thomas for helping her but said there was "still a long way to go to get the justice that we were promised".

Betty has been waiting 26 years for things to be put right.

"We're just getting fobbed off. The evidence is all there," she said.

More than £892m has now been paid to over 6,200 claimants across four different compensation schemes, according to the latest government figures.

But a group of MPs in January said compensation is not being paid quickly enough, and called for changes to the way redress was being delivered.

Mrs Brown was one of the original 555 victims who took part in the landmark group legal action led by Alan Bates against the post office. And she is seeking her compensation via the GLO scheme, established just over three years ago.

Betty's story has become a high-profile case. Mr Thomas was pressed about it on BBC's Newsnight in January, where he promised to look into her case. He met Betty and several other victims the following day.

Although Betty's offer has now increased from 29% to 60% of her claim it is still far less than what she says experts told her she could expect.

News of her revised offer will not be encouraging for other victims also embroiled in disputes over what is full and fair redress.

Post Office Minister Mr Thomas said he can "understand the frustration when lawyers are not able to reach an agreement on a claim".

"It is always our priority to pay as much redress as we can, and in some cases, we have been able to offer more than has been claimed," he said, adding that the government would take "further steps to quickly and fairly resolve" challenges in disputes such as Betty's."

Betty is determined fight on to get what she still believes she is owed.

Chairman of the Business ad Trade Committee, Liam Byrne, said he was concerned about some victims facing a "significant" write-down of their claims when their initial offer is tabled.

He has written to Mr Thomas with a series of questions on fairness of offers, delays and transparency.

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