Wrongly jailed sub-postmistress to collect OBE

A former Surrey sub-postmistress wrongly jailed while eight weeks pregnant will be appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on Wednesday.

Seema Misra, who ran a post office in West Byfleet, is one of four leading campaigners to receive an OBE for their service to justice following the Post Office's Horizon IT scandal.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting based on faulty computer data.

Named in the New Year's Honours list, Ms Misra has described the OBE as "empowering our fight for justice even further" and an acknowledgement of the "scale of the injustice" suffered.

Due to receive her OBE during a ceremony in Windsor Castle, Ms Misra was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2010 after being accused of stealing £74,000.

She garnered media attention because she gave birth while she was behind bars.

The plight of Ms Misra and others was thrust into the limelight by the acclaimed 2024 ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

It showed how hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongfully pursued and convicted for stealing in what has been called the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.

The drama centred on the story of former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, played by actor Toby Jones, who led and won a legal battle, paving the way for dozens of convictions to be overturned.

Sir Alan was knighted in June 2024.

Speaking in December, Ms Misra said she hoped the recognition would "give more weight to the fight" to help her fellow scandal victims.

"My aim is to be able to show this is still happening and to get proper, full and fair compensation for everybody, and most importantly, accountability," she added.

"It's one of the main reasons I accepted it - to remind people that the scandal hasn't gone yet."

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