Page Description
A powerful exploration of how cruelty and absurdity destroyed innocent lives, from Jo Hamilton in the Post Office scandal to Liam Allan’s wrongful accusation.
What happens when truth is ignored — and no one listens
Voltaire warned that belief in absurdities leads to atrocities. The stories of Jo Hamilton and Liam Allan reveal how this happens — when truth is ignored, and innocence is sacrificed in the name of false certainty. Impossible to imagine — and yet, it happened. The central aberration is that a justice system, meant to protect the innocent, was used to perpetrate the impossible. What makes their cases unbearable is not just the scale of the injustice, but the indifference with which powerful institutions turned on them. Both Jo and Liam were people whose integrity was clear, yet they were met with cold certainty and moral blindness. And the worst part is that this could not be stopped — not by the victims, nor by those who should have acted to prevent it. This page explores how profound corruption and indifference can destroy the lives of those least deserving of it.
Wat gebeurt er wanneer de waarheid wordt genegeerd — en niemand luistert
Voltaire waarschuwde dat geloof in absurditeiten leidt tot wreedheden. De verhalen van Jo Hamilton en Liam Allan laten precies zien hoe dit gebeurt — wanneer de waarheid wordt genegeerd en onschuld wordt opgeofferd in naam van valse zekerheden. Onvoorstelbaar — en toch gebeurde het. De centrale aberratie is dat een rechtssysteem, dat bedoeld is om de onschuldigen te beschermen, werd gebruikt om het onmogelijke te begaan. Wat hun gevallen ondraaglijk maakt, is niet alleen de omvang van de onrechtvaardigheid, maar de onverschilligheid waarmee krachtige instituties zich tegen hen keerden. Zowel Jo als Liam waren mensen van wie de integriteit duidelijk was, maar toch werden zij geconfronteerd met koude zekerheid en morele blindheid. En het ergste is dat dit niet gestopt kon worden — niet door de slachtoffers, noch door degenen die hadden moeten ingrijpen om het te voorkomen. Deze pagina onderzoekt hoe diepgaande corruptie en onverschilligheid de levens kunnen vernietigen van degenen die dit het minste verdienen.
Justice Turned Upside Down
Two ordinary lives — one a mother, the other a student — devastated by institutions meant to protect. In these interviews by Raphael Rowe, Jo Hamilton and Liam Allan recount how justice failed them in ways that seem almost impossible. What happened to them should never happen to anyone.
Twee gewone levens — een moeder en een student — verwoest door instanties die hen juist hadden moeten beschermen. In deze interviews van Raphael Rowe vertellen Jo Hamilton en Liam Allan hoe het recht hen op een bijna onvoorstelbare manier in de steek liet. Wat hen is overkomen, zou niemand mogen meemaken.
The UK’s “Post Office Scandal” – Jo Hamilton
18 okt 2023
For the past twenty years, the UK has been grappling with the aftermath of the notorious “Post Office scandal,” which has affected countless innocent individuals. In 2000, the Horizon IT system was introduced to modernise the Post Office network, but its rollout led to a barrage of wrongful convictions for fraud, theft, and false accounting. Despite technological advancements in digital payments and optimised accounting, the system frequently flagged accounting discrepancies due to bugs and errors, resulting in harsh punitive measures taken against subpostmasters and staff. Consequently, thousands of innocent people lost their jobs, homes, and freedom.
The Post Office and its lawyers attempted to cover up the scandal by withholding crucial information about Horizon in court cases, leaving many of the victims without justice or compensation.
Timecodes
00:00 – Intro
02:27 – Life before the post office scandal
06:04 – When did you take over the post office
06:33 – What was Horizon designed to do
07:16 – What were you accused of
09:57 – How did you end up owing £36,000
15:29 – How did you cover the deficit
17:52 – Why didn’t she tell her family
19:09 – The hidden truth
20:08 – Facing criminal proceedings
24:06 – Getting prosecuted
27:12 – Pleading guilty of false accounting
29:41 – Multiple victims & village support
33:35 – Creating a victims group
36:53 – Life after being prosecuted
40:27 – Finding out that Horizon was the issue
43:04 – How was your conviction overturned
47:09 – Other people being convicted
50:52 – Dealing with being wrongfully accused
53:50 – Do you accuse anybody
57:15 – Outro
1 A Student Wrongly Accused Of Rape – Liam Allan
8 nov 2023
The collapsed trial of Liam Allan reveals a widespread problem in the legal system, which criminal defence lawyers have been warning about for some time. Liam was accused of rape and sexual assault, but his defense was that any sexual contact between himself and his former girlfriend was consensual. The Prosecution’s case relied heavily on the ex girlfriends account, which is a common situation in sexual assault allegations that often occur in private settings without any independent witnesses.
It took two years from Liam’s arrest for his trial to proceed in the Crown Court. Prior to the trial, his lawyers had repeatedly asked the Prosecution to disclose text and social media messages between Liam and his ex girlfriend from her phone. Despite clear guidelines on disclosure, the officer in charge of the case failed to hand over this potentially useful information to the defence team. It wasn’t until the trial started that this material was brought to the attention of the Prosecuting barrister, who ordered it to be handed over immediately. The messages cleared Liam of all charges. His ex girlfriend and accuser had messaged him asking for sexual contact and spoke of a desire for violent sex and rape fantasies. In other messages to friends, she stated that no crime had been committed.
YouTube video and social media content created by the Scribul marketing agency: https://www.scribul.com
Timecodes
00:00 – Intro
04:44 – How did you get accused
13:56 – How did you prepare your defence
20:52 – Did anyone treat you differently
24:21 – Did you fear the possibility of being convicted
26:03 – Would you get a lesser sentence if you pleaded guilty
28:23 – Going to trial
38:43 – The lack of disclosing material
42:06 – Did the messages show why she accused you
43:59 – Was the accuser brought to justice
45:08 – Was the police incompetent or malicious
46:32 – Has there been any lessons learned by the public
51:50 – Dropped rape cases
58:03 – What action did you take against the police
1:01:17 – The impact on relationships
1:06:19 – Do you want to see the accuser to be prosecuted
1:08:30 – Outro
Lord Arbuthnot Says It Like It Is
In this sharp exchange with counsel Jason Beer, Lord Arbuthnot exposes the evasive and obstructive mindset that protected the Post Office leadership. His answers are calm, precise, and unflinching — a rare moment of clarity in a scandal marked by denial.
In dit scherpe gesprek met raadsman Jason Beer legt Lord Arbuthnot de ontwijkende en obstructieve houding bloot waarmee de top van de Post Office zich jarenlang beschermde. Zijn antwoorden zijn kalm, precies en onverbloemd — een zeldzaam moment van helderheid in een schandaal dat werd gekenmerkt door ontkenning.
Lord Arbuthnot says Paula Vennells was ‘defensive, legalistic and determined’ to keep info from MPs
10 apr 2024
Lord Arbuthnot said in his witness statement that certain Post Office staff had become “defensive, legalistic and determined to keep from MPs information about which they had previously promised to be open.”
He says today that this applied to former CEO Paula Vennells “particularly,” but also others.
Post Office Scandal – can’t remember, don’t care
21 jul 2024
This video give you a helpful hint as to what to shout at your telly if you get grumpy at a witness at the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry because you think they are lying. Sure, you can shout out liar, liar, pants on fire, but I have something that might work even better… all revealed in this video 🙂
But she is right about one thing: “You’ve dressed like that all your life.”
Hyacinth is expecting Councillor Mrs. Nugent for tea — until she spots her helping Onslow and Rose push their broken-down car. What excuse will she come up with this time?
About Hyacinth’s excuse — compare it to Alice Perkins’ response in the video above: “Post Office Scandal – can’t remember, don’t care.” In that video, Dr. Paul Duckett analyzes the questioning and highlights the phrase “can’t remember” as a self-serving tactic.
As one observer put it: “You get grumpy at a witness at the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry because you think they are lying.”
Hyacinth verwacht raadslid mevrouw Nugent voor de thee — totdat ze haar ziet helpen bij het duwen van Onslows en Roses kapotte auto. Wat voor excuus zal ze dit keer verzinnen?
Over Hyacinths excuus — vergelijk het met de reactie van Alice Perkins in de video hierboven: “Post Office Scandal – can’t remember, don’t care.” In die video analyseert Dr. Paul Duckett het verhoor en wijst hij op de uitdrukking “kan het me niet herinneren” als een zelfdienende strategie.
Zoals een toeschouwer het samenvatte: “Je wordt chagrijnig van een getuige bij het Post Office Horizon IT-onderzoek omdat je denkt dat ze liegen.”
Hyacinth Lies to the Councillor About Onslow and Rose | Keeping Up Appearances
Post Office Lawyer accused of ‘Rewriting History’ in COVER UP
22 feb 2024 #JarnailSingh #PostOffice #PostOfficeInquiry
Post Office Lawyer Jarnail Singh is accused of ‘Rewriting History’ as multiple pieces of evidence expose potential untruths from his witness statement to the Post Office Inquiry.
As temperatures rise during the testimony Jarnail Singh can be seen to be tapping his witness statement claiming that it’s all in their and it makes it the truth – despite growing evidence that the Post Office Inquiry has obtained to the contrary.
Unrattled, Jason Beer KC puts his conclusions to Jarnail Singh asking if he’s ‘Rewriting History’ because he didn’t follow the correct procedures and handling of witnesses or prosecution cases.
Union representing sub-postmasters repeatedly ignored Horizon IT concerns | ITV News
20 mrt 2024
How was it the Post Office were able to go about criminalising hundreds of innocent people for more than a decade without as much as a peep from the National Federation of Subpostmasters (NFSP), which represents the vast majority of self-employed sub-postmasters?
ITV News can reveal that the union repeatedly ignored concerns over Horizon IT.
Nick Wallis reports.
The Man Who Took on the Post Office and Won
The Real Mr and Mrs Bates: Their Truth Behind Taking on The Post Office | This Morning
‘Mr Bates Vs The Post Office’ has shocked audiences, and shone a light on the misjustice of the Horizon scandal – but now the ITV drama is making a real impact. The series has prompted at least 50 new potential victims to come forward, and over the weekend the Metropolitan Police confirmed they are investigating the Post Office for potential fraud offences. As the Prime Minister calls for justice, we’re joined by the man who made all of this possible – the real-life Mr Bates and his partner Suzanne. They’ll be sharing their thoughts on the dramatisation, and telling us why more needs to be done to right the wrongs of the past.
Educational: This video is essential viewing