The plight of a sub-postmaster from Pembrokeshire wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon software scandal has led to calls for faster compensation for all those affected.
Tim Brentnall from Roch was one of 736 sub-postmasters caught up in the IT scandal.
He was wrongfully convicted as a result of faults in accounting software developed by Fujitsu for Horizon.
The scandal has been described as one of the UK’s most widespread miscarriages of justice, and came back into public and political focus following the recent ITV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Mr Brentnall was prosecuted in 2010 after a shortfall was discovered at his branch.
Originally, he was told he would be convicted for theft when the Horizon system showed £22,500 missing from the Post Office counter at Roch Gate Stores, owned and managed by Tim’s family.
His parents' life savings managed to pay back the money but he was still prosecuted by the Post Office for false accounting.
Tim pleaded guilty to fraud on the advice of his criminal barrister, who said it was unlikely that a jury would believe him over the Post Office and its computer based evidence.
He was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison, which was suspended for 18 months, and ordered to contribute 200 hours of unpaid work in 2011.
Roch Gate Stores closed for good in November 2022.
At that time Tim said that the wrongful prosecution had cost the family a lot of money, which had impacted the business.
Tim first met with Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb in 2012.
Since then Mr Crabb has pressed government ministers to move faster to ensure that sub-postmasters finally get justice.
He ensured that Mr Brentnall’s experience formed part of the catalogue of cases that former MP James Arbuthnot used to shine a light on the scandal.
After new legislation to overturn convictions linked to the Post Office scandal cleared its final House of Commons this week, Mr Crabb said this week that it is still taking too long for those affected to receive compensation.
Last week, Mr Crabb organised a meeting between Mr Brentnall, the Post Office minister, Kevin Hollinrake MP, and UK Government officials to discuss the compensation process and ensure that the former Roch sub-postmaster receives the necessary support.
“I’m pleased to have been able to arrange the meeting for Tim and myself to talk through the compensation process with the minister so that finally a line can be drawn under this awful experience for Tim and for all those affected,” said Mr Crabb.
“I have long been calling on the government to take action. I am encouraged by the steps that have already been taken by government on this with the introduction of the bill announced by the Prime Minister earlier this year.
"It has been an arduous and painful process to get to a point where justice is finally being served.
“However, the speed at which compensation packages are being paid is currently too slow.
"It is so important that all those affected are compensated as fast as possible and I will be seeking further clarity from the minister on this in due course.”
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