After visiting Betty, he said:
"Talk is very cheap. Lots of people shout about easy solutions, their view, or latest ‘hot take’ in some battle of the egos.
But whether it’s changing the law or really changing someone’s life, it often really takes time, and it really isn’t glamorous or about shouting from the rooftops at every opportunity. Helping people, sometimes raising their case at every level of Government, working with them, is tricky, time consuming and difficult but crucially, it can really make a difference if you make the effort. Some people you can’t - in the end - do much for. That’s why when you can it’s good and why it was so wonderful to catch up with Betty Brown in Parliament recently.
I first met Betty in her late 80s (now her early 90s). She is the oldest living victim of the scandal. Betty was harassed out of the small Post Office, she’d run with her husband for decades. She was told she was a liar; told she was bent; told she was a thief. She was left hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket - everything she and her husband had ever had - and pushed out in disgrace.
I met Betty about 18 months after I first became an MP, on a summer surgery tour. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Betty - and her family - over the years. I learnt of after raising her case as part of the fight for justice for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal. Her resilience, dignity and determination in the face of such an appalling injustice continue to inspire me. She never gave in and kindly tells everyone we meet ‘Richard was the first person who said I believe you and did something about it.’
She went from being an unheard victim of the scandal to campaigning and fighting tooth-and-nail through the courts to, working with Sir Alan Bates for justice, to finally, getting the compensation she deserved and was awarded the OBE for her efforts too. She knows that the stress of what happened killed her husband of 50 years just over two decades agobut will never be able to prove it.
It was great to hear how things are progressing, but there is still more to do. I'll keep backing Betty and all those affected until everyone receives the justice, accountability and compensation they deserve.
Thank you, Betty, for everything you continue to do for fellow victims."
