A victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal has spoken out about her protracted fight for justice, which continued even after her husband's identical conviction was overturned.
A Couple's Shared Injustice
Former sub-postmasters Glenys and David Eaton were both sentenced to six months in prison after the now-discredited Horizon IT system falsely reported shortfalls in their branch accounts. The couple took over their Post Office in 2000, a year before Horizon was introduced, and noticed significant discrepancies almost immediately. They were arrested together in December 2001 for the same alleged offence.
While David Eaton's conviction was quashed in 2024, his wife faced a much longer and more arduous path. Glenys Eaton's lawyers were forced to threaten officials with a judicial review to get her case moving. She was only informed weeks ago that her conviction was also eligible to be overturned.
"The time in prison was absolutely horrible," Mrs Eaton told MPs while giving evidence. "We are not dishonest people." She expressed sympathy for others in similar situations, stating, "I feel sorry for all the other people who are in the same boat we were and don't have people to fight their corner."
The 'Titanic Battle' and Missing Victims
David Enright, the solicitor from Howe and Co who represented the Eatons, described the struggle as a "Titanic battle." He revealed it took six months of constant correspondence with the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Business and Trade before progress was made. "We had a husband and wife in identical situations," Mr Enright told the Business and Trade Committee. "You've quashed the conviction of the husband but not the wife. We had to take the step of issuing judicial review proceedings."
The hearing uncovered a worrying backlog. Out of roughly 1,000 potential convictions that could be quashed, around a fifth have been delayed due to lengthy requests for more information from government departments, with one case dragging on for 14 months. MPs were told there may be many more "missing" victims who have not come forward or are stuck in limbo, often traumatised and lacking paperwork to support their cases.
Fujitsu's Stance on Compensation
The government has allocated £1.8 billion for Horizon scandal compensation, funded largely by taxpayers. However, Paul Patterson, European chief executive of Fujitsu Services, the Japanese IT giant behind the faulty Horizon system, admitted the company has not set aside any money for its potential contribution.
"It has yet to be decided," Mr Patterson told MPs, insisting Fujitsu would contribute after the completion of Sir Wyn Williams' inquiry. He did not deny the presence of bugs and errors in the system, which the Post Office still uses. This comes as MPs heard Fujitsu has continued to secure government contract extensions worth £500 million since May 2024.
Liam Byrne MP, chair of the committee, criticised Fujitsu's position: "Your refusal to tell us how much Fujitsu will pay into a £1.8billion bill for taxpayers leads people to the conclusion that, frankly, Fujitsu is behaving like a parasite on the British state." Mr Patterson rejected the term, arguing the government had a choice over contract extensions.
The scandal, one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history, continues to leave a trail of unresolved cases and unanswered questions about ultimate financial responsibility.
