Victims and Families Reject Postal Museum Exhibition Over Post Office Scandal Legacy Project
Victims and families advising the inquiry’s legacy project have dismissed a planned Postal Museum exhibition on the Post Office Horizon scandal as a PR stunt and will not endorse it.
The inquiry into the Horizon scandal, announced in September, is working with the Postal Museum as part of its efforts to commemorate the scandal’s impact.
However, attendees at a recent meeting, including Katie Burrows and Nichola Arch, criticized the event; Burrows described feeling coerced, traumatized, and indicated the meeting seemed pre-decided and was filmed.
Burrows’s charity, Lost Chances, announced it will not support collaboration with the museum, citing that seeing Post Office memorabilia triggered anxiety linked to her mother’s wrongful conviction.
Arch expressed concerns that funding from the Post Office to the museum undermines trust and stated that no actions taken by the museum will change that.
Alasdair Brown remarked that subpostmasters do not want to be associated with the Post Office headquarters, describing the location as prison-like and inappropriate for events.
Laura Wright, CEO of the Postal Museum, emphasized the importance of allowing those affected to tell their stories on their terms and said the museum will work with them led by their wishes, acknowledging that participation is voluntary and that building trust takes time.
An inquiry spokesperson added that the exhibition concept originated from a focus group of post office operators and will be explored as part of the legacy project with ongoing collaboration with those impacted.
