THE family of a victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal say it 'ruined' the last ten years of her life.
Former Barrow sub-postmistress Isabella Wall died in 2022 without receiving compensation after she ended up bankrupt as a result of the faulty IT system.
She lost everything after her Horizon system began to show money going missing from the accounts at her post office in Bowness Road - where she worked for more than 20 years.
Now family members have opened up on how she was affected by the scandal, which has touched thousands of sub-postmasters and postmistresses.
As part of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance that won a landmark case at the High Court in 2019 she received £16,000 in compensation but the sum was taken by her bankruptcy.
Her family, as well as Barrow MP Simon Fell, are fighting to get compensation and justice for Mrs Wall.
Her daughter Stephanie Colwell told the Sunday Times: “The fact that my mum’s now dead and doesn’t see justice, it’s very difficult.
"Nothing will ever compensate for this. Nothing,"
Her son-in-law Callum said family relationships became strained after Mrs Wall was sacked by the Post Office.
“It single-handedly ruined the last ten years of her life,” he said.
David Enright, who represented her and her husband, as well as many other sub-postmasters at the inquiry, told the newspaper: “The situation of the Wall family is beyond urgent. Sub-postmasters are sick and tired of empty promises from the government; they need and deserve justice now.”
A Post Office spokesman said: “We are deeply aware of the human cost of the scandal and are doing all we can to right the wrongs of the past, as far as that is possible … This individual was part of the group litigation order and the government [has] set up a compensation scheme for these victims or their estates.”
A government spokesperson said: “The Horizon scandal has had a devastating impact on the lives of postmasters and their families, and it is crucial that affected postmasters are fairly compensated.
"The families of those who died before they could get justice can apply to one of the three Horizon compensation schemes, where compensation will be paid to the beneficiaries of the postmaster’s wills.”