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Horizon scandal was 'final straw' for Studham sub-postmaster

Nicola Haseler/BBC Man with beard and glasses holds a post office sign and some other signage from the old post officeNicola Haseler/BBC
John Hanna still lives in the building that used to house the post office and shop in Studham

A former sub-postmaster has said the Horizon IT scandal was the "final straw" which prompted him to close his struggling post office.

John Hanna closed the family-run shop in Studham, Bedfordshire, in 2001.

The 68-year-old said he paid "hundreds of pounds" out of his own pocket to cover accounting deficits brought up by the faulty Horizon software.

The former Royal Mail chief executive has said he is "deeply sorry for those whose lives were ruined".

More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted based on data from the software between 1999 and 2015, and some went to prison for false accounting and theft charges.

The ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which aired last week, has inflamed the scandal.

Courtesy of John Hanna Black and white photo of elderly woman with glasses standing behind the counter of a shop with jars of sweets behind herCourtesy of John Hanna
The post office in Studham was run by Mr Hanna's family since 1837, including by his mother Maisie Hanna

Mr Hanna said his family had owned and run the shop since 1837 and said "life was good" after he became involved in 1984.

Later however, he said he suffered armed raids at the shop, late deliveries and takings went down.

Speaking to BBC Three Counties Radio, he said the Horizon system, which he would use to input his accounts twice a week, became "the final straw that made it just an ordeal".

Courtesy of John Hanna Old-fashioned shop named "Maisies" in brick building with adverts for cigarettes and ice cream by the front doorCourtesy of John Hanna
Life was good, John Hanna said, when he first got involved in the shop in 1984
Courtesy of John Hanna Black and white photo of village street showing shop and post office with old car outsideCourtesy of John Hanna
The post office was the only shop in Studham at the time, and the village is shop-less even now

"It was the dread of Wednesday nights and the dread of 'I knew there was something wrong with Horizon' - you can't go from balancing for 14 [to] 15 years, and then suddenly, you're not balancing," said Mr Hanna, who says he is a qualified accountant.

"I remember dreading that I might get a massive imbalance that I couldn't pay back and it was draining my Post Office salary."

He estimated that he covered shortfalls with hundreds of pounds from his salary - although "maybe less than £1,000" - and was quick to stress that his losses were "tiny" compared with those featured in the ITV drama.

After announcing the closure in 2001, he said "we had our shop windows smashed, we had hate mail, villagers generally shunned me".

"My ancestors would have turned in their graves when we closed in 2001 - no easy decision then, which has haunted me since," he added.

Mr Hanna subsequently worked as a postman in nearby Luton for about five years. He still lives in the same former-shop building.

ITV Mr Bates vs The Post Office cast standing outside the village hall where their meetings were heldITV
The ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office has provoked more national debate

Adam Crozier, former chief executive of the Royal Mail Group between 2003 and 2010, said on Tuesday: "While I did not have any involvement in the Horizon issue during my time at Royal Mail, I feel deeply sorry for those whose lives were ruined by what happened."

Former Post Office chief executive Paul Vennells has handed back her CBE.

A public inquiry into the scandal has been ongoing since February 2021.

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