Post Office scandal fallout risks cutting off rural Welsh communities

The member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd told Parliament the UK's new Labour Government must redress the damage caused public confidence in postal services following the Horizon scandal.

"The effects of the Horizon scandal and Post Office business practices are still hurting our communities," she said. "The Post Office provides essential services for many people, and we need assurances from the new government that these will be maintained."

Her concern comes after former Penrhyndeudraeth sub-postmaster Dewi Lewis,  who endured four months of imprisonment and had to wear a tag for another four months for a crime he never committed, had his conviction quashed. 

Mrs Saville Roberts said that the impact of cases like his were that people were no longer prepared to work in post offices, running the risk that rural Welsh  communities could become disconnected.

"Dewi Lewis endured four months of imprisonment and had to wear a tag for another four months for a crime he never committed.

"He hasn’t wanted me to raise his case in the Chamber before, because he said that to have his hopes raised and then dashed would destroy him. Two weeks ago, he got a letter to say that his convictions were quashed.

"But the damage done to the reputation of the Post Office in rural Wales is so immense that people are no longer prepared to work in post offices.

"I welcome that the Secretary of State believes the business model is no longer fit for purpose, but how can we be sure we will have strategic planning to serve those communities once served so well by people like Dewi Lewis?

"The Horizon scandal is a mess of the Post Office’s own making which continues to have damaging and widespread impact on communities across the UK. 

"It is incumbent upon them to restore trust in the service and the first step towards that is to ensure people can access services wherever they live."