- Tracy Felstead was 19 when she was wrongly despatched to HMP Holloway
- Accused of ‘stealing’ £11,500 from Camberwell Green publish workplace
- Scandal is seen as one of many UK’s greatest miscarriages of justice
A lady who was wrongfully thrown into Britain’s hardest ladies’s jail as an adolescent because of the Post Office scandal has spoken out on the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Tracy Felstead was 19 when a decide despatched her most safety facility HMP Holloway for ‘stealing’ £11,500 from Camberwell Green publish workplace in South London the place she labored in 1999 – her first job after leaving college.
The now 36-year-old is considered one of 557 former Post Office staff now taking the corporate to the High Court to show a pc glitch was precise the rationale behind cash going lacking in a number of Post Office branches throughout the nation.
The scandal is seen as one of many UK’s greatest miscarriages of justice and has gained latest nationwide consideration over latest days because of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office airing on ITV.
Tracey’s story doesn’t characteristic within the new four-part drama, which concludes tonight, however the now educating assistant hopes it would give the public a higher understanding of what the wrongfully prosecuted subpostmasters and subpostmistresses went by means of.
Tracy Felstead was 19 when a decide despatched her most safety facility HMP Holloway for ‘stealing’ £11,500 from Camberwell Green publish workplace in South London the place she labored in 1999– her first job after leaving college
The scandal is seen as one of many UK’s greatest miscarriages of justice and has gained latest nationwide consideration over latest days because of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office airing on ITV
Camberwell Green Post Office in south London, the place Miss Felstead began working in 1999
Tracey advised ITV’s This Morning: ‘I believe as a result of I used to be solely 19 it was troublesome. We misplaced household mates as a result of they thought I had stolen this cash.
‘It’s actually exhausting to show, when you do not know what’s gone improper and you’re stood there in a court docket of legislation making an attempt to clarify what has occurred and you’ll’t.
‘I wasn’t pleading guilt to one thing I hadn’t accomplished. But I stood my floor, however if you end up up towards an institution that’s so large and you set your belief within the justice system, you suppose every little thing will likely be okay and it simply wasn’t, you could not defend your self.’
The ITV present, starring award-winning actor Toby Jones, highlights Alan Bates’ lengthy battle towards the Post Office on behalf of staff accused of stealing from their branches, with many jailed as widespread thieves or made bankrupt.
The programme has angered viewers who need to see justice served to the victims of the scandal.
This contains folks like Tracey, who advised the MailOnline in 2019 she nonetheless suffers from nightmares after spending six months in jail.
Tracey, who was 17 when she began working on the publish workplace, mentioned: ‘They did not care that I used to be this scared woman. They did not care that I’m sitting there in court docket, and I’m completely distraught, and my household are aghast. And I do not suppose they realise general what they’ve truly accomplished.
‘Because nonetheless to at the present time I’m having flashbacks and nightmares, and I nonetheless cannot bear a door slamming as a result of it takes me again to that jail door shutting, which is probably the most dreadful sound on the planet.’
The now 36-year-old is considered one of 557 former Post Office staff now taking the corporate to the High Court to show a pc glitch was precise the rationale behind cash going lacking in a number of Post Office branches throughout the nation
The ITV present, starring award-winning actor Toby Jones, highlights Alan Bates’ lengthy battle towards the Post Office on behalf of staff accused of stealing from their branches, with many jailed as widespread thieves or made bankrupt
In 1999, a fault with the Post Office’s IT system (Horizon, by Fujitsu) incorrectly reported money shortfalls in branches throughout the nation, resulting in the scandal which affected Tracey and tons of of her colleagues.
As of at present, no Post Office govt nor Fujitsu worker has confronted legal investigation for his or her half within the fault.
Nick Read, shared a message by way of social media following Tuesday’s episode, saying: ‘We sincerely apologise to victims for the devastating affect of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal on the lives of so many.
‘We are all doing all we will to supply redress and urge anybody affected who has not but come ahead to take action.’
In 2020, the Post Office admitted Tracey’s prosecution was an abuse of course of.
The following yr, the Court of Appeal dominated it was greater than that. It was an affront to your complete justice system and may by no means have occurred.
A public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal on the Post Office remains to be ongoing and Tracey hopes somebody will likely be held accountable for the various years of trauma she has confronted.
She mentioned: ”It’s about getting justice now and clearly the enquiry are doing that. Someone must be held accountable.’