The son of a Horspath postmaster wrongfully convicted of stealing from the Post Office called for compensation to be paid more swiftly to those affected by the Horizon scandal.

Varchas Patel, 34, was 23 when his father, Vipinchandra, was charged with stealing £75,000 from the Post Office.

He was convicted of fraud and given an 18 week suspended prison sentence in 2011.

But he was blameless, with the ‘missing’ funds actually the result of an error in the Horizon IT software. A public inquiry, launched last month, will look at how much the Post Office knew about problems in the system.

Mr Patel’s conviction was quashed on appeal in 2020, one of more than 70 postmasters to have historic convictions overturned.

Those whose convictions were overturned have been promised compensation.

But Varchas Patel, speaking to the Oxford Mail on behalf of his father, called for that money to be paid sooner rather than later.

READ MORE: Horspath postmaster's conviction overturned

“We’ve all suffered damage which is not repairable,” he said.

“We would all like to be paid in full – financially – and for me as a son and speaking specifically for dad, my dad’s disabled, he walks with crutches, he walks with sticks, no amount of compensation will ever put his physical health back right.

“My dad’s 68. I’m not a scientist. I don’t know how long he’s going to live.”

 

File image of Vipinchandra Patel with his wife Jayshriben. Picture: David Fleming

File image of Vipinchandra Patel with his wife Jayshriben. Picture: David Fleming

 

He said his parents should be able to retire, when ‘they can try and digest what’s happened and move on mentally’.

Varchas Patel added: “Unfortunately, a lot of us are still in limbo.

“It’s not just the victims – it’s also their families who suffered.”

A public inquiry, launched last month, will look into whether the Post Office knew about faults in the Horizon IT system and will also ask how staff were made to take the blame.

Jason Beer QC, counsel to the inquiry, said the ordeal of those affected could be ‘the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history’.

He went on to say: “Lives were ruined, families were torn apart, families were made homeless and destitute.

READ MORE: MPs demand Government ‘fully compensates’ all victims of Post Office scandal

“Reputations were destroyed, not least because the crimes of which the men and women were convicted all involved acting dishonestly.

“People who were important, respected and integral part of the local communities that they served were in some cases shunned.

“A number of men and women sadly died before the state publicly recognised that they were wrongly convicted.”

Vipinchandra Patel is not currently expecting to give evidence to the inquiry, his son said.

Varchas said: “I was 23 when my father was prosecuted. I saw the prison officer come upstairs to the flat and put an ankle tag on my dad. It was horrendous to see my dad in bed; it was me, my sister and my mum who were forcing him to get out of bed. He couldn’t face the world.”

His father was ‘confused, lost and stressed’, he said.

  • A previous version of this article stated Mr Patel’s conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal. The conviction was quashed by Southwark Crown Court. We apologise for any confusion caused.

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