News about Toby Jones

Will Close is the toast of the West End after picking up a prestigious Olivier Award for playing Harry Kane in the National Theatre's hit show Dear England, which also won best new play. Picking up the best supporting actor award - whose previous winners include Eddie Redmayne , Toby Jones and Sir Patrick Stewart - the football mad Everton fan looked shocked and overwhelmed, poignantly dedicating the gong to his late mother, a lover of amateur dramatics who died during the pandemic and inspired him to act. But he also thanked the England captain himself in his speech - and revealed that while he has never met Harry, the footballer's friends came to watch the show and were bowled over by the performance. Speaking on the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall he said: 'I had a few people who came to see it who know Harry and are friends with him who were very encouraging and complimentary, which was a relief'. Will said that he had studied Kane's intonation and his over-use of certain bland words in interviews such as 'nice' and 'obviously'. He added: 'I think that if he had been in the audience I don't think I would have been able to handle it - I would have been too nervous'. Before Dear England that he was best known for his part as Freddie in Tesco's fictional family where he played a 'boomerang child' back living with parents in his 20s in around four adverts. Ruth Jones, star of TV hits including Gavin and Stacey played his mother, and Paddington actor and comedian Ben Miller, played Close's father. In their Christmas advert they scrambled around a Tesco store looking for items for neighbours who had to have gluten free meals. Close, whose character said he didn't know what gluten free meant, returned to the trolley with a lightbulb to eat. Tesco soon dropped Freddie after a backlash. The supermarket's then brand director Michelle McEttrick admitted it was because the character was too annoying.

Former subpostmaster Alan Bates has said he will pursue private prosecutions against those responsible for the Horizon IT scandal if the inquiry does not pass a file to prosecuting authorities. Mr Bates, who was played by Toby Jones in a critically-acclaimed drama, led the campaign against the Post Office on behalf of fellow postmasters who were wrongly accused of dishonesty and fraud.

Prominent campaigner Alan Bates arrived at the Post Office IT Inquiry in London today ahead of giving evidence to the investigation as it enters a significant phase. Mr Bates founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, and led a group of 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the High Court over the scandal. His story recently became the subject of an ITV drama titled Mr Bates vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones. Glitches in the Horizon IT system used by the Post Office meant money looked as if it was missing from many branch accounts, when in fact it was not. The scandal, which was ongoing from 1999 until 2015, represents one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK legal history and more than 100 subpostmasters have had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal.

The four-parter in January, with Toby Jones as subpostmaster Alan Bates, was the most watched program of the year, and the most popular drama of the last three years, according to ITV. It revealed how hundreds of subpoelmasters were wrongfully accused of stealing and fraud as a result of a flawed computer system, prompting Rishi Sunak's passing of a new bill to dismiss their convictions. Julie Hesmondhalgh's wife and Monica Dolan, as another of the victims, are among the first ensemble performances to debut on the Radio Times list.

Elliot Jacobs, who was elected to the board in 2021 to represent sub-postmasters, was part of the Post Office's efforts to demonstrate that the culture that caused the horizon controversy to be transparent had not changed. Despite this, Mr Jacobs, who owns eight post offices in North London who also use the Horizon IT platform, was investigated by the Post Office's legal team due to an accounting error of a few thousand pounds. Mr Jacob's probe into him was concluded by the Post Office, which revealed no wrongdoing. The incident enraged Henry Staunton, the Post Office chairman. So much so that the Daily Telegraph announces that Mr Staunton's discussion with Ben Foat, the company's group general counsel, was uncovered during the probe.

To this day, a Sub-postmaster confirmed that her Post Office is still having problems with their Horizon IT system. Jacqueline Franklin, a journalist who spoke to Good Morning Britain, said that her Warwickshire Post Office still suffers from computer errors from the same system that caused the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history. "The other day [the Horizon IT system] turned itself off while a clark was serving," Ms Franklin said. That's happened three times in recent history. You're trying to help a customer with a screen that refuses to turn itself off. It's like "what happened" but we don't know why, and we're trying to log back in to get a receipt and make sure the transaction has went through.'

Since the High Court found that there had been numerous bugs and errors in Fujitsu's Horizon software, the company had received a £1.4 billion worth of deals with Treasury-linked companies. Despite its involvement in the Post Office fiasco, the Japanese communications company is expected to have earned more than £3.4 billion from Treasury-linked companies since 2019, according to MPs. According to the Commons Treasury Committee, more than £2 billion worth of contracts were signed before 2019 and remained in force in the following period. Last month, the influential group of MPs wrote to organizations including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Bank of England (BoE) to request information regarding Fujitsu's deals.

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Linzi Smith, a lesbian and activist, was later presented with an 11-page dossier, which included information about where she lives, works, and even where she walks her dog. Ms Smith, 34, was investigated by police after the dossier was delivered to them by Newcastle United FC (pictured right). It took two police officers two hours to inform that she did not commit a felony.

After pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement at Campbeltown Sheriff Court in 2012, Aleid Kloosterhuis, 64, had been sentenced to 12 months in prison. However, her case was one of six cases referred to the High Court by the Scottish Criminal Law Review Commission in November 2022 over allegations of justice misconstitutions. A court official today reported that her conviction has now been quashed at an Appeal Court hearing in Edinburgh on Thursday. Ravinder Naga is also appealing his conviction, and the case has been referred to a procedural hearing in April.

The most completely stocked store I have ever been in is just off the Chipping Campden High Street, beyond the Market Hall and behind the mysterious rows of yellow stone cottages. It's an Aladdin's Cave of all you could ever need. Doom insecticide, sanitary soap, playing cards, raffle-ticket books, Union Jack crockery, and de-icer are among the sellotape items on sale. The space is tiny, but every inch is full. Shelves' groan with stuffed dinosaurs, marshmallows, cookery books, and sewing kits. A stack of air fryers and electric heaters can be found in one corner. On top of all that, there is a huge blackboard that informs customers about everything else on offer here: knife sharpening, dry cleaning, film restoration, computer repair, and digital home visits. To break even, we have to have absolutely everything else we can think of,' says Barney Meredith. Or, the whole thing would be hopeless.' None of the bills would increase.'

Following a spat with the government over the Horizon affair, business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has confessed that it was "just wasn't working." Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch called Henry Staunton, who had been in the £150,000-per-year position for a year, to inform him that she was to be recalled. According to the Department of Industry and Trade, they decided to'part ways with mutual consent, and an interim will be appointed'shortly.'

Mr Staunton, who became chairman in December 2022, was reportedly informed by Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, that he would be recalled this weekend because of rising tensions with the government. Ms Badenoch reportedly alerted him of the decision over the phone call this afternoon, according to Sky News. In recent months, one insider has said that there have been a number of tensions between the Post Office chairman and the government. The hunt for a new chairman would begin as the government seeks to pass legislation that will honor hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongly found guilty of criminal offences such as fraud.

Suzanne Winter (left) was involved in the criminal investigation into Belfast subpostmaster Alan McLaughlin and Maubeen McKelvey, who was based in Omagh. Following a suspected £10,000 loss at his Brookfield Post Office branch in Tennent Street, Mr McLaughlin was found guilty of false accounting fraud in 2005. Ms McKelvey's Clanabogan branch reported that there were £30,000 shortfalls in the Horizon system, and that despite being found not guilty, the strain of her five-year wait for the acquittal caused her thyroid to break, resulting in major surgery. Investigators such as Ms Winter were ranked from one to five by the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, based on their recovery of subpoenas.

I want my money back,' a postmistress who was compelled to remove £50,000 from her pension during the Horizon Scandal 'doesn't want an apology.' Heather Earley (left) opened her Post Office in Mossley, County Antrim, in 2011. She was one of hundreds of hundreds of thousands of Post Office workers impacted by the Horizon scandal, which incorrectly stated that no money was missing from the stores. Ms Earley was one of 555 sub-postmasters to win a major lawsuit against the firm in 2019. The Post Office decided to pay £58 million in compensation, but a significant portion of the money was paid to court fees. In 2023, Post Office Chief Executive Nick Read (right) met Ms Earley in Northern Ireland, where he apologized to her. Ms Earley told him she'd rather have her money back rather than asking him to return it. Inset: Toby Jones starring in Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, the ITV drama which made the scandal much more widely known

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His wrongful conviction was dismissed after a former Post Office subordinatemaster who was embroiled in the Horizon scandal. Since being accused of having a shortfall of £5,700 at his Post Office in Clakmannanshire by the company, Robert Thomson (left) had pleaded guilty to one charge of embezzlement in 2006. Despite being innocent to avoid being sent to jail, he later confessed guilty. He was eventually sentenced to 180 hours of community service and fined £5,000 in compensation. Today, Mr Thomson's sentencing took place at the High Court in Scotland, as the recriminations surrounding the scandal, which resulted in more than 700 subpostmasters in the United Kingdom being wrongfully dismissed, persist. Mr Bates vs. The Post Office (right) - a television drama involving the scandal has ignited public outrage, with the government enforcing new measures to protect the convictions of those caught up in the scandal.

After the country's reaction to the Horizon miscarriage of justice, victims of the infected blood crisis have requested a television drama to highlight their heartbreaking stories. Thousands of patients were infected with HIV and hepatitis C by contaminated blood samples in the 1970s and 1980s, according to the outbreak. According to reports, compensation payments to victims and their families could cost from £5 billion to £22 billion. However, with many people yet to receive any funds and the result of the probe delayed until May, victims' families are hoping that a television drama will be produced to raise concerns about the investigation.

Kevin Hollinrake described watching Mr Bates Vs. The Post Office at home with his wife while Parliament was recess, in an interview with The Mail on Sunday. We were all shocked,' he said. 'I think I cried more than she did.' In the courtroom scenes with Jo Hamilton, played by Monica Dolan, and when the sub-postmasters prevailed, the minister's tears flowed, as well. The ITV drama sparked national outrage over what has been described as one of the most common miscarriages of justice in British history. Mr Hollinrake wishes the show to win all the Baftas and for actor Toby Jones to be honoured with a knighthood, but not before Alan Bates, who appeared in the drama, received first place.

When East Yorkshire subpostmaster Lee Castleton faced his court fight in 2007, Peter Sewell was part of the Fujitsu Post Office Account Security Team. Mr Sewell described the road the court was built on as a spot where 'they used to hang people out to dry'. After losing his battle with the Post Office, Mr Castleton, a Bridlington, was discovered to have a £25,000 shortfall at his branch. When pressed on whether it was important to shield Fujitsu's overall reputation, Mr Sewell admitted that "we all protect our own businesses."

Former Postmaster Alan Bates (right) slammed the Post Office's'madness' compensation scheme, advising victims that they were 'dying' waiting for redress. The true-life star of ITV's hit drama (left, Toby Jones as Alan Bates) said that delays had delayed his own pay, and that the whole process had been 'boggled down'. The bureaucracy of the scheme, according to co-peter Jo Hamilton, who was wrongfully indicted in 2008, left them feeling like 'criminals all over again.' Mr Bates, who spoke via video connection, told MPs: 'It's been on for far too long.' People are suffering, they're dying, and we're losing numbers along the way. And bureaucracy seems to be tied up. And that seems to be the biggest issue.' Of his own situation, he said: 'I think it was 53 days before they asked three very basic questions.' The whole thing is madness. There is no reason why complete financial recovery would not have been available by now.'

According to a whistleblower, the Post Office could change accounts on the Horizon system remotely and without postmasters knowing as early as 2001. Senior managers will be required to be 'pretty stupid' to not know that Horizon's settings could be changed, according to a report. According to a former Post Office worker who had worked in a Yorkshire call center during the 2000s, their helpdesk team could edit cash and stocks on live terminals using the device. The whistleblower told The Times, "We wouldn't do it, but if you wanted to muck them around," the whistleblower said. Between 1999 and 2015, information from the IT system was used to sue up to 983 postmasters, assuming the accounts were correct.

'My heart sank, and I was sick,' she says.' 'I thought, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, what's going on here? It turned out that it was just a letter of apology from them, but for me, it's the pain. We're all still eating it every day. People aren't strong enough to come forward because of this.' When she sat down last week at her home in Strabane, Co Tyrone, to watch the explosive new ITV series, Mr Bates Vs. the Post Office, the acute sensation of nausea returned. It portrays a 20-year story that has rocked one of the country's most integral organisations in a riveting, stomach-churning drama.

After a mass quashing of convictions was announced, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokeswoman said on Wednesday that it would be 'common sense' to honor Alan Bates. The Prime Minister's press secretary said that it is "more difficult to think of someone more deserving of being rewarded by the honors system than him." It comes after Cabinet Minister Esther McVey said that Mr Bates should be knighthood "as soon as possible," referring to him as a "extraordinary individual." (Pictured right is Toby Jones as Alan Bates in the ITV drama)