Post Office scandal victim hopes to get home back
BBC"I don't want fortunes. I want a home with a front door," says Sue Palmer.
She lost her house and went bankrupt after fighting to clear her name when she was wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office in the Horizon IT scandal.
Mrs Palmer is one of hundreds of sub-postmasters who exposed the wrongdoing but who've been excluded from proper compensation.
However, from today they can now finally apply to a new fund to recover their losses.
The government says it will pay "full and fair" compensation whatever the cost.
"It's taken too long... it's a scandal that's needed righting for a long time," said Kevin Hollinrake, the Post Office Minister, who was appointed last autumn.
He told the BBC the government would put all the victims back to where they were had the mistreatment not occurred.
"We are very clear about that," he said. "For example, if they lost their house through bankruptcy that financial position should be restored and they should be compensated for that loss."
The group of victims won a landmark legal action against the Post Office in 2019, which paved the way for the quashing of dozens of convictions. They secured more than £50m in damages, but there was little left after legal fees and costs.
And despite bringing the wrongdoings of the Post Office to light, they found themselves ineligible for the subsequent compensation scheme that followed.
Under pressure, the government decided in March last year to come up with a new scheme for the 492 sub-postmasters affected. It went on to announce £19.5m in interim payments.
Mrs Palmer got her payment only in December - but soon realised it wasn't what it seemed, with a significant chunk of the money going straight to pay her creditors.
"I found I owed more than I started off owing 17 years ago, because of the interest," she said.
"I'm still exactly where I was all those years ago."
'Humiliation'
Mrs Palmer was prosecuted by the Post Office for stealing money when faulty software was to blame instead. She was found not guilty, but she was still dismissed from her role, losing her income, house and reputation as a result.
"It just became worse and worse until the high court sheriffs came," she said. "And they put all our furniture in the front garden. The final humiliation. And that's when I had to go bankrupt."
Mrs Palmer is one of at least 23 claimants in this group who were made bankrupt as a result of the Post Office's actions and yet are still being forced to pay off creditors, who are owed money, from their compensation.
All claims for this new compensation scheme need to be settled by August next year. However, that could be a challenge, according to David Enright from law firm Howe & Co, which represents more than 150 victims.
"All the other compensation schemes produced by the Post Office have been plagued by delay and unfairness... so there are deep worries," he said.
"Clients of mine are dying… they need to pick up the musket and get going."
One of them, Isabella Armstrong-Wall, died in December.
She is one of 27 claimants who were in the original legal action but who have passed away without receiving their rightful compensation.
The new scheme is being run by the government and overseen by an independent advisory board. Victims will be entitled for up to £18,000 in legal fees to help them settle their case.
Mrs Palmer is desperate for her full payment. Now 63, she and her husband live in a cramped one-bedroom flat and struggled with energy bills over winter.
"We sold everything we had. The only thing I was left with was my wedding ring. We were made homeless and I live in a tiny flat. We can't have visitors really. Our life is different."
She will never get back the years she lost, but she hopes the years she has left can be made more comfortable.