A FORMER subpostmistress has accused the UK Government of "not paying the postmasters" while presenting an award at the Brits.
Former subpostmistress Jo Hamilton was joined on stage by Monica Dolan, the actress who portrayed her in ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, to present the first Brit Award of the evening.
Hamilton, 66, was falsely accused of stealing £36,000 from the Post Office branch she ran in South Warnborough, Hampshire. She pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of false accounting to avoid going to jail and was prosecuted in 2006.
The mother-of-two told the crowd at the O2 Arena: “I want to thank everyone in the country for the love and the support they have given the postmasters. Please can you keep on supporting us because, despite what the Government says, they’re not paying the postmasters.”
The Horizon IT scandal saw more than 700 subpostmasters prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
Hundreds of subpostmasters are still awaiting compensation despite the Government announcing those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.
Hamilton took up a cleaning job, was forced to remortgage her house twice, borrow money from friends and source donations from the local community to pay back the funds.
Her conviction overturned in 2021 when it was discovered she had been a victim of the Post Office Horizon Scandal, which saw more than 700 subpostmasters prosecuted because of a faulty accounting system.
Hamilton presented the Song of the Year award to Raye for Escapism, a track which also featured the artist 070 Shake.
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