Yvonne Tracey: Former Post Office employee to problem Lib Dem chief Sir Ed Davey at normal election

A lady who spent greater than three many years working for the Post Office is planning to face in opposition to Liberal Democrat chief Sir Ed Davey – a former postal affairs minister – on the subsequent normal election.

Yvonne Tracey, who mentioned ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office had made her “very sad” and “very angry”, lives in Sir Ed’s constituency of Kingston and Surbiton in southwest London.

The 68-year-old grandmother mentioned she can not permit him to “stand again unchallenged”.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses have been wrongly held chargeable for accounting errors created by defective software program.

Those affected by the Horizon IT scandal are “still not hearing the truth”, Ms Tracey informed Sky News.

They “still haven’t got justice” and “haven’t got answers”, she mentioned. “Some of them haven’t had their names cleared. I just felt I had to do something to help them.”

Sir Ed, who was postal minister between 2010 and 2012 throughout the coalition authorities, refused to fulfill sub-postmaster Alan Bates, whom the ITV drama is known as after, saying in a brief letter that it “wouldn’t serve any purpose”.

According to Ms Tracey, a sub-postmaster who ran a publish workplace in Sir Ed’s constituency misplaced his dwelling, his enterprise and tried to take his personal life on multiple event after being caught up within the scandal.

She mentioned: “He tried three times to get in touch with Sir Ed and every time he was turned away, refused or ignored.”

The Liberal Democrats mentioned the sub-postmaster lived exterior Sir Ed’s constituency and parliamentary conference meant he was subsequently unable to get entangled within the case.

Asked if the Post Office scandal would nonetheless be on individuals’s minds throughout the normal election marketing campaign, Ms Tracey mentioned she thought it might.

“I think people are so angry over this. I’d love to think by the time the election came it was all done – they’d all have their compensation and be living happily after.

“But everyone knows it is not going to occur that fast. It’s been twenty years to date.”

Ms Tracey was elected to Kingston Council in 2022 and represents the native residents group.

The principal political events in Kingston beforehand accused the group of Islamophobia and “divisive campaigning”.

But Ms Tracey mentioned the allegations “really annoyed” her and had led to authorized motion.

Davey did later meet Mr Bates

Sir Ed did later meet Mr Bates and was the primary minister on public document to take action.

It is known he then requested his officers to comply with up on the issues raised by the sub-postmaster at their assembly.

Speaking beforehand to Sky News, Sir Ed mentioned: “I wish I’d known then what we all know now. The Post Office was lying on an industrial scale to me and other ministers.

“When I met Alan Bates and listened to his issues, I put these issues to officers in my division, to the Post Office and to the National Federation of Postmasters and it is clear all of them have been mendacity to me.”

Dave Penman, the overall secretary of the FDA union for civil servants, branded Sir Ed’s feedback “outrageous” and said they were an “act of desperation from a former minister attempting to avoid wasting his personal pores and skin”.

“Ed Davey goes past what is affordable to count on from a former minister,” he told Sky News. “If he will repeat this he must again up his accusations.”

‘I used to be taken out in handcuffs’

Arfan Aslam can keep in mind the pleasure he felt when he turned a sub-postmaster, writes Sky News correspondent Shingi Mararike.

In his early 20s, he was persevering with a household custom by working a neighborhood enterprise. “At the time I was over the moon, because it was like a professional job – it was like a life-changing opportunity,” he mentioned.

Within weeks, that dream had was a nightmare. He was arrested and escorted out of the publish workplace in entrance of his youthful brother, who was working with him on the time.

“They’ve taken me out in handcuffs, marched me out of my own post office, in front of these people,” he mentioned.

“Made me look like a criminal. I let my mum and dad down and everything. It broke my heart.”

Arfan mentioned life didn’t get any simpler for him when he left jail. The father-of-three was pressured to repay greater than £53,000 whereas he struggled to search out work and claimed advantages.

His close-knit household helped him repay the money owed, and now with the Horizon scandal making headlines, he’ll quickly be pursuing compensation, whereas hoping to have his conviction overturned.

“Any bit of money would help, but we cannot take away the pain and the 22 years of suffering,” he mentioned.

“No bit of money can change that.”