New Post Office law 'a step in the right direction'

A man caught up in the Post Office scandal with his wife says a proposed new law to exonerate victims is a step in the right direction.

Michael Rudkin's wife Susan was wrongly convicted of stealing money, while he lost his job and union position.

The couple, who are featured in an ITV drama about the scandal, ran a branch in Leicestershire.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said new legislation will "swiftly exonerate and compensate victims".

The Post Office prosecuted 736 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses between 1999 and 2015 based on information from IT system Horizon, after faulty software wrongly made it look like money was missing.

Mr Sunak announced on Wednesday victims would be able to sign a form to say they were innocent in order to have their convictions overturned and claim compensation.

Mr Rudkin, who was played by Shaun Dooley in Mr Bates vs The Post Office, ran the Ibstock branch of the Post Office with his wife.

Mrs Rudkin, who is too upset to speak publicly at the moment, was convicted of losing £44,000, given a suspended sentence and ordered to complete 300 hours of community service while being electronically tagged.

Her husband said: "If you could even remotely think of what hell would look like, then multiply that by 10, that is how our lives have been the last 15 years, absolute hell.

"It doesn't get much worse than your wife contemplating suicide."

Reacting to the announcement of new legislation, Mr Rudkin said: "I was pleased [by] the overall principle of making sure that everybody has this blanket overturning of convictions because they've waited far too long for this.

"On top of which, to be compensated, let's see what the detail is.

"It feels as though we're heading in the right direction. After 20 years, I hasten to add."

His wife's conviction was overturned in April 2021 but people's perception of them as a couple did not change dramatically, Mr Rudkin previously told the BBC.

However, since the programme - which put the scandal in the spotlight - was broadcast, people who he had not spoken to in 20 years have been getting in touch.

Mr Rudkin added: "From feeling castigated throughout your community and your friends... all of a sudden, I'm getting messages from people who I haven't spoken to for 20 years saying 'we saw the programme, we didn't realise. So sorry'."

He said he now wanted recompense for their loss of earnings and compensation.

The couple dismissed a previous compensation offer, which Mr Rudkin called "obscene".

A Post Office spokesperson said: "We are acutely aware of the human cost of the scandal and are doing all we can to right the wrongs of the past, as far as that is possible.

"Both Post Office and government are committed to providing full, fair and final compensation for the people affected.

"To date, offers of compensation totalling more than £138m have been made to around 2,700 postmasters, the majority of which have been agreed and paid."

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