King Charles calls Post Office scandal 'dreadful' as oldest victim Betty Brown receives OBE

Betty Brown, believed to be the oldest surviving victim of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, has said King Charles described the affair as “dreadful” when she met him to receive an OBE. Brown, 92, said she was accepting the honour on behalf of all those affected by the miscarriage of justice, according to the BBC.

Brown said the award was not just for her, but for the sub-postmasters who suffered losses, prosecutions and, in some cases, prison sentences because of faulty Post Office software. Reporting from Sky News, as reflected in the YouTube coverage, said around 1,000 people were wrongly accused and convicted between 1999 and 2015, and Brown said the recognition was for “all the injustice” they endured.

The BBC also reported that Brown dedicated the honour to the sub-postmasters who have died before seeing their names cleared. In a separate BBC video report, the 92-year-old said she dedicated the OBE to “all sub-postmasters we have lost,” underscoring the human toll of the scandal.

Brown has become one of the most prominent survivors associated with the long-running Horizon case, which has prompted public outrage, compensation claims and a wider reckoning over how the Post Office pursued those it wrongly blamed. Her comments add to the sense that the scandal remains deeply painful for victims even as official recognition and redress continue.

Her meeting with the King also carried symbolic weight for many campaigners, because it signalled acknowledgement at the highest level of what victims have described as years of suffering and disbelief. Brown said she was glad to accept the honour in recognition of everyone affected, not only those still living to see justice pursued.