Post Office scandal’s 4 ‘suicides’ – ‘destroyed’ dad and spouse damaged by ‘disgrace’

For years, heroic Alan Bates has campaigned on behalf of more than wrongly accused 900 sub-postmasters.

Today the determined campaigner will make a long-anticipated appearance at the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal, as he calls for those responsible to face prosecution. Speaking with the Mirror last month, Alan said: “People have been waiting for years. They want to put an end to this and move on and they can’t while this is still lingering. I don’t think the Government truly understands it from a victim’s perspective.”

As dramatised in ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, hundreds of innocent post office workers had their lives turned upside down after being accused of fraud, theft, and false accounting over unaccounted cash that wasn’t even missing. In actual fact, the financial discrepancies were due to glitches in the supposedly ‘robust’ Horizon technology, which was installed in branches up and down the country at the turn of the millennium. While many will today be hoping for justice to prevail, others whose livelihoods and reputations were destroyed died before their voices could be heard. As the long-awaited inquiry unfolds, the Mirror takes a look at four individuals believed to have died by suicide following the devastating impact of the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history…

Martin Griffiths

Father-of-two Martin Griffiths tragically died by suicide in 2013 at the age of just 59, after being falsely suspected of financial wrongdoing at his post office branch in Ellesmere Port. Martin’s family say the enormous strain took a toll on the sub-postmaster’s physical and mental health, and in 2020 they called upon the government to take a far stricter line of review.

Recalling the grief his family endured after losing Martin, his nephew Samuel Caveen told the Liverpool Echo: “The weeks after Martin died were the worst weeks of our lives. When my uncle passed away, I got a phone call in the middle of the night from his wife, Gina. That was horrendous. Looking back, his death seems to have stolen away such precious time. He should be a proud grandfather now as his son had a child last year and his daughter is expecting, but he’s not been here to see that. “I feel like it’s a significant portion of my family taken away from me. Family gatherings were and have been curtailed. My uncle had his life and his reputation torn apart by the Post Office and his mental health was completely destroyed. It’s an absolute tragedy.”

Fiona McGowan

Mum-of-two Fiona McGowan reportedly spiralled into a deep depression after she and partner Phil Cowan, were accused of stealing £30,000 from her Edinburgh post office. She died from an accidental overdose in 2009, while waiting to appear in court. She was only 47 years old. Phil Cowan, who now lives in Thailand, told The Sunday Post: “Fiona may well be still alive today if she had not been facing court for false accusations of theft and died before clearing her name.”

Peter Huxham

In July 2020, police discovered the body of Devon postmaster Peter Huxham, who had died alone at home in a suspected suicide after serving an eight-month prison sentence over a £16,000 shortfall. Peter’s 22-year marriage had disintegrated due to his ordeal, and he’d been struggling with alcoholism and mental health issues.

Recording an open conclusion, Assistant Coroner Stephen Covell stated: “It is unfortunately rather an unsatisfactory state of affairs that I cannot give any helpful conclusions as to the precise circumstances of Peter’s death. He lived alone and died some weeks previously, and as a result, his body was badly decomposed and it was not possible to give a cause of death. There were no suspicious circumstances.”

Louise Mann

Louise Mann, the wife of a postmaster in Moretonhampstead, Devon, tragically took her own life in 2012 over the shame of being labelled a thief. Her husband Charles, 66, reportedly did not receive any compensation. The father-of-one said: “I lost my job. Then I lost my wife.”

In 2020, the Post Office paid out a £57.75m settlement after more than 550 claimants brought group legal action over the Horizon system, which was found to contain software flaws that caused financial shortfalls in the sub-postmasters’ branch accounts over a number of years. An investigation later revealed Post Office managers knew IT problems could be to blame for missing money but still prosecuted staff.

A Post Office spokesman said: “We have taken determined action to address past events and we are working to reform the Post Office, to forge an open and transparent relationship with the thousands of current postmasters providing customers with vital services in the UK’s communities. We agreed a comprehensive resolution last year with claimants in group civil litigation, following successful independent mediation. We sincerely apologise to those affected.”

The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email [email protected] or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.