Overview
Mr Bates vs The Post Office tells the story of one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history. Hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system. Many of the wronged workers were prosecuted, some of whom were imprisoned for crimes they never committed, and their lives were irreparably ruined by the scandal.
Following the landmark Court of Appeal decision to overturn their criminal convictions, dozens of former sub postmasters and postmistresses have been exonerated on all counts as they battled to finally clear their names. They fought for over ten years finally proving their innocence and sealing a resounding victory, but all involved believe the fight is not over yet, not by a long way.
| Original Air Dates: | — |
|---|---|
| Country: | UK |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Network: | ITV |
| Watched by: | 1 023 1 003 136 |
| Total running time: | 4 hours 52 minutes |
| Episode duration: | |
| Episodes: | 4 |
Now, more than 20 years after the beginning of their struggle, the victims of the "mail scandal" believe that they are finally approaching its successful resolution. In the most unexpected way, it happened thanks to the movie.
An independent investigation into the case is currently underway in Britain, but the scandal received a special resonance precisely after the feature television series "Mr. Bates vs The Post Office" drew attention to it.
The series struck a chord with viewers so much that it caused a huge wave of anger across the country. After that, the "postal scandal" immediately became the main topic in the British media and the most pressing issue on the parliament's agenda.
After the release of the series, in just a few days, there were many shifts that the victims had been waiting for for years.
Firstly, more than 100 more postmasters who were wrongly accused of theft made themselves felt.
Secondly, after a petition started because of the series, the former head of the Post Office, Paula Vennels, returned the award — the Order of the Commander of the British Empire.
But the main breakthrough was the fact that the British government immediately began to consider ways to mass annul sentences and compensate for losses. On January 10, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that a special law would be issued abolishing criminal prosecution for all victims of the scandal.
I watched and roared every episode. I feel incredibly sorry for all the ordinary people involved in this story, how many lives were ruined due to a malfunction that no one wanted to admit for so many years.
Alan Bates is, of course, a hero!
In the end, she burst into tears ((