Former sub-post mistress on Horizon scandal

As dramatised in the recent ITV series, sub-postmasters across the UK found themselves racking up huge debts as the faulty software was failing to balance their books. 

Between 1999 and 2015, over 900 sub-postmasters were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting based on faulty Horizon data, with about 700 of these prosecutions carried out by the Post Office.

June Johnston, from Hawarden, previously ran a part-time post office from inside her Reflections hairdressers in Pontybodkin, near Leeswood. 

The now 76-year-old told how her life turned after the Post Office introduced the Horizon accounting software. 

Recalling her experiences, June explained: "We had the post office running inside the hairdressers 9am until 12pm every day. I had taken it on as the other post office in the village had closed.

"When we'd do the books on a Wednesday afternoon with a paper ledger, it ran so smoothly and we never had any issues. But when they introduced the Horizon software - things changed instantly."

June said she had a one-day training course on how to use.

"My mother was really ill on the day of the training," she said. "I asked if I could do it another time but I couldn't. I couldn't concentrate on it at all.

"Most of us (sub-postmasters) hadn’t been in front of a computer before. I certainly hadn't. And then you'd think 'what’s going on here?', you'd be £50 down or over."

Like other sub-postmasters, June was made to think that she alone was facing issues with the software.

"We didn’t communicate with each other (other sub-postmasters), so no one initially knew it was happening across the board," she said. "You'd ring the helpline and be told you’re the only one having issues with it.

"They must have been told what to say, as they clearly said that to hundreds of people."

In the end, June said she ended up paying £2,000 of her own money to balance the debt.

Her post office in the hairdressers was closed down in 2009 after the Post Office decided to keep only one open in the Cymau, Llanfynydd and Pontybodkin area.

"I was relieved when it closed down," June said. "The stress caused by Horizon was too much to bear. I had had breast cancer treatment and my husband had suffered a heart attack. I wanted to get home to him on a Wednesday night, but instead I had to deal with the Horizon issues."

June and her dog, Josie (Image: UGC)

June said when she watched the ITV drama, she "couldn't stop crying".

"It was a mixture of emotions, I was so happy for those who had lost so much," she said. "I was lucky that I only lost a couple of grand - people's life savings were gone. People lost their freedom, some even their lives.

"It was a feeling of vindication - for all those years they made us feel that we were doing something wrong - when we hadn't done anything wrong at all.

"Did they really think that hundreds of ordinary people were thieves? We were just being blamed for faulty IT software. It is absolutely terrible."

June said she was approached by Alan Bates' group to join it, but she was worried about the legal costs she could incur. 

"We were told this could go on for years and years," she said. "I didn't want to face a huge legal bill. But I am so delighted for them that the truth finally came out."

North Wales Senedd Member, Carolyn Thomas, worked for June in the post office before becoming a councillor. 

She said: "When I started I asked for proper training on the system from the Post Office as I was concerned about what had been happening, it was distressing.

"June paid off what she was told she owed out of her wages and it seemed to settle down then. We did not know what had gone wrong but June paid it so we had a fresh start.

"I have watched the first episode and half of the second but had to turn it off because I was so angry and appalled. It is terrible what happened to good people who often go above and beyond and are the pillars of the community, trusted by many."

Sarah Campbell, June Johnston and Carolyn Thomas outside the Reflections hairdressers in Pontybodkin. (Image: User generated content)

She added: "Our post office was unusual being inside the village hairdressers and was the heart of the community just like many of the post offices featured in the programme.

"It is appalling it has taken a TV programme to highlight the injustices and for the UK Government to take notice.

"I hope that justice is reached, that people are acquitted and compensation is paid to the victims."