Seema Misra takes part in Post Office scandal show

Seema Misra was eight weeks pregnant with her second child when she was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2010

• Pramod Thomas
• 15 May, 2024

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By: Pramod Thomas

A former sub-postmistress from Surrey, who was wrongly imprisoned while pregnant during the Post Office IT scandal, has participated in a national show, the BBC reported.

Seema Misra from West Byfleet, Surrey, was eight weeks pregnant with her second child when she was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2010.

Journalist Nick Wallis, known for his involvement in ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, interviewed the British Indian woman for The Post Office Scandal: The Inside Story on Wednesday (15)

The event was held at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford.

Misra shared her firsthand experience of the scandal, including the emotional toll it took on her, including suicidal thoughts. The interview was followed by a question and answer session.

Additionally, Wallis also interviewed Chirag Sidhpura, a former Farncombe sub-postmaster, as part of the programme.

Misra went to jail on her oldest son’s 10th birthday. She was wrongly accused of stealing £70,000 from her Post Office branch in West Byfleet. After four-and-a-half months in prison, she gave birth to her second child while wearing an electronic tag.

Misra’s conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2021. She was among over 700 sub-postmasters and postmistresses charged between 1999 and 2015 due to discrepancies caused by the Horizon computer system.

It wrongly indicated that money was disappearing from their branches. Like Misra, some were imprisoned, while others faced financial ruin, losing their livelihoods and homes. Tragically, some passed away before seeing justice served.

The ongoing public inquiry aims to determine who was aware of the problematic accounting software and when, which caused significant harm, including massive debts, health issues, damaged reputations, and the wrongful prosecution of numerous innocent sub-postmasters for theft and false accounting.