Mr Bates vs The Post Office: Mediation – what went wrong?
The Post Office, scandal which has hardly been out of the news in the first half of 2024, has captured the nation’s attention. The gripping, high-impact real-life story appeared in everyone’s living room in the form of an ITV with mini-series Mr Bates vs The Post Office. The series was brilliantly cast with outstanding performances by many actors, especially Toby Jones and Julie Hesmondhalgh. The unjust treatment of hundreds of sub-postmasters was, the Post Office claimed, mitigated by mediation was covered in the third episode. It was clear that what the Post Office had proposed and created was not a method of mediation but an inquiry panel attempting to bully sub-postmasters into submission. The Post Office’s version of mediation was neither fair nor conciliatory.