Ex-postmaster says Government compensation scheme does not go far enough

AN unfairly convicted former postmaster has criticised the Government for limiting compensation claims in the Post Office accounting scandal to £600,000, saying that some victims have lost more than that.

Vijay Parekh told GB News: “I’m glad that they’ve announced it, but that £600,000 they’re talking about – there’s people who have lost more than just £600,000…”

Asked how much he had lost, he said: “The rough calculation is going to seven figures.

“I’ve lost everything, on the building, I mortgaged the house to as much as I can, but I had to move out…and the whole family I had is gone [because of] the scandal.

“Now I’m in a different area, but it’s going to take time to recover from this.”

In a discussion during Good Afternoon Britain with Tom Harwood and Pip Tomson, he said he served 18 months in prison for something he did not do.

“It was horrifying because of the amount of people there and you don’t know what they have done, who you’re with, and what situation they have been put into prison for, and you’re just like a criminal with them at the same time.”

Parekh said the Government should “quicken up the process of giving the compensation to everyone concerned because it’s just taking too long for people to get compensation.

“And even after you put the application in, it’s going to take longer because it doesn’t finish until August, this Horizon inquiry.

“After the inquiry, they will start making the big amounts, tallying up, and that’s going to cause even longer delays after August.”

He said those responsible for causing the scandal should face justice: “We’ve done nothing, and we’ve been in prison.

“They have done something, so they need to be in prison because of what they’ve done.”