### Retired Councillor’s Post Office Experience Turns Into Nightmare After Horizon Scandal
Life had been on an upward trajectory for Alun Lloyd Jones. As a respected county councillor in Ceredigion, west Wales, and after a successful career as a senior medical representative for Pfizer, Alun was looking forward to a well-deserved retirement. But a decision to step in and help his local Post Office in Llanfarian, a village then home to fewer than 1,000 people, would steer his golden years into turmoil and distress.
When Alun, now 79, was first approached to run the Post Office and village shop in the late 1990s, it seemed both a community service and a pleasant challenge. “It fitted well with my role as a councillor. I enjoyed it at the start,” he recalls from his home, still just a stone’s throw from the now-derelict Post Office building. The role allowed him to remain a pillar in an area where “everyone knew everyone”, but events soon took a darker turn with the introduction of the computerised Horizon accounting system.
It was with the arrival of Horizon that problems began creeping into Alun’s work. Regularly, he discovered shortfalls in his cash takings at the end of his shifts—the books simply weren’t balancing. When he voiced his concerns and refusal to sign off on discrepancies, he was admonished by management and auditors. “The figures were wrong, and if I signed them, it would have been fraud,” he says. The Horizon helpline told him to “just put it through” and reassured him the money would turn up, advice that only deepened his unease.
Fearing false accusations, Alun turned to the police for a crime reference number, hoping to prove his transparency. However, the Post Office scolded him for this step. In desperation, he asked the auditing department to look into his accounts. Days later, he was suspended from his role without warning. Thus began months of fear and anxiety for Alun and his wife, Evelyn, as he waited at home, haunted by the risk of arrest and the spread of suspicion within his tight-knit community.
The stress escalated when the Post Office demanded he repay £20,000—money supposedly missing, according to Horizon’s faulty reporting. To stave off prosecution, Alun remortgaged his home and borrowed from his father-in-law. “I was terrified,” he admits. “As a community figure, if word got out I’d lost trust, how could I have continued my duties?” The couple’s finances collapsed, forcing them to live off credit cards, while Alun endured whispers of “no smoke without fire” from neighbours.
Alun’s ordeal grew heavier as he realised he was not alone in his predicament. At the time, he was told he was the only one with problems and must be in error. But news stories began surfacing about other sub-postmasters suffering the same fate. In reality, the Horizon system was riddled with faults, leading to the largest miscarriage of justice in UK legal history. More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for alleged thefts that had never occurred, while hundreds, like Alun, paid “missing” sums under threat.
Over the next 18 years, Alun campaigned doggedly for justice and compensation, not just for himself but for all victims. The scandal was thrust into the national spotlight through the ITV drama ‘Mr Bates vs the Post Office’, which chronicled the relentless campaigning by ex-sub-postmaster Sir Alan Bates. Alun finally received compensation in January 2025, 18 years after the original loss. Sadly, his daughter, who died at 40 from cancer, never saw her father vindicated, nor did his son, who died suddenly. In addition to these personal tragedies, Alun suffered substantial duress, including a heart attack, under the weight of the injustice.
Despite accepting the compensation, Alun believes it falls short of recompensing for the stress and harm inflicted on his family. “I just wanted it over,” he remarks, evidence of the emotional toll the episode exacted. He is now calling on the UK Government to compensate families of sub-postmasters and provide counselling to those affected by this traumatic saga.
Alun’s story is far from unique—across the UK, livelihoods, reputations, and families were destroyed. The Post Office has paid over £594 million to 3,800 people to date, and official apologies have been issued, promising further reforms. A government spokesperson said more measures to address the suffering are under consideration.
Reflecting on his ordeal, Alun is driven to campaign for other afflicted families, noting that many have suffered irreparably. “Some have died, some have lost businesses or their homes, and many families have been destroyed by the pressure,” he says. With a formal petition and a relentless dedication to helping others, Alun embodies the resilience of those whose only wish was to serve their communities—and instead found themselves victims of a national injustice.