Staveley postmaster leaves post office following ITV drama

Graham Livesey has been at the Beehive, an independent store and sub-post office in Staveley, since 2009.

The ITV four-part series showcases the Horizon scandal in which a faulty IT system led to prosecutions of fraud, theft and false accounting for postmasters across the UK.

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Now Mr Livesey said he believed it was time for him to turn his back on the post office after being one of the postmasters blamed for losses.

He said: "My first shortfalls occurred in 2010 and continued in a random pattern through to 2015 totalling a few thousand pounds.

"I was lied to and was told that I was the only one, just like everyone else, even when I asked whether there were any faults in the network.

Read more: Mr Bates vs the Post Office: Cumbria shops plead for support | The Mail (nwemail.co.uk)

"I was just told that it was a branch error and I was responsible for my losses, for which I had to reimburse the Post Office.

"Whilst other local offices were hit by much larger amounts and consequently shut down, I considered myself lucky that I was able to absorb mine and continued to serve the village, but the worry that something catastrophic might happen always lingered in the back of my mind."

Mr Livesey will step down from his role later this year (Image: Graham Livesey)

Whilst the Beehive will continue as a newsagents and general store, Mr Livesey will leave his role as a sub-postmaster on July 4 with a new site now needed for a post office service to continue in Staveley.

"I have given this careful thought, but my conscience overrides the fact that I will be throwing a spanner in the works," he said.

"I hope that I am not the only sub-postmaster that has a strong conscience and that others review their position and do the same."

Mr Livesey added that he had been 'reduced to tears' upon watching the drama and that he was left 'disgusted' by the 'bullying tactics' depicted.

"I would like to thank Alan Bates for his dogged persistence over two decades without whom the doors for other victims would have never been opened for the likes of me to claim compensation in this gigantic scandal," he said.

"As for the others involved in the miscarriage of justice, watch your backs, the witch hunt has barely begun."

Mr Livesey was responding to the news that a petition had been launched to strip Paula Vennells, former chief executive officer of Post Office Limited, of her CBE following her involvement in the scandal.

The petition has since reached over one million signatures, which resulted in Ms Vennells handing in her CBE on Tuesday.

Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, met with the minister responsible for the post office, Kevin Hollinrake, on Monday afternoon.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday that new measures are being considered to clear the names of the hundreds of sub-postmasters and mistresses.

The Metropolitan Police have revealed that they are investigating the Post Office over potential fraud offences after the handling of the Horizon IT scandal.

The organisation's pursuit of branch managers led to more than 700 prosecutions, criminal convictions and, in some cases, prison sentences.