A woman said to be the oldest victim of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal said the King is as “upset” about the ordeal as the victims after receiving her OBE at Windsor Castle today.
Betty Brown, 93, was among 68 people to be honoured by the King at Windsor Castle alongside Luther star Sir Idris Elba and ice skating champions Dame Jayne Torvill and Sir Christopher Dean.
She ran the Annfield Plain Post Office near Stanley in County Durham with her husband Oswall from 1985 to 2003 and estimates they lost around £100,000 of their own money to cover non-existent shortfalls.
The OBE was to recognise her services to justice after campaigning for sub-postmasters.
The Horizon accounting system, run by Japanese firm Fujitsu, made it appear that money was missing from sub-postmasters’ branch accounts.
It is at the centre of the long-running Post Office scandal, which saw around 1,000 people wrongly prosecuted and convicted throughout the UK between 1999 and 2015.
Ms Brown, who is one of the original victims, took part in the group legal action led by Sir Alan Bates against the Post Office.
Speaking to the Press Association after meeting King Charles, Ms Brown said he was “fully informed” of the scandal, adding: “It’s a great honour that the King has recognised an ordinary person trying to do something good in the community.
“What I’ve said to him was: ‘Impress on the Prime Minister that there is no price on justice.’ The quibbling about the money – stop it, and finish Horizon immediately.
The government told ITV Tyne Tees today (2 June 2026) it's "striving to deliver justice as swiftly as possible."
Speaking after the event Ms Brown added: “He (the King) is as upset about it as we are… I said to him, try telling the Prime Minister and his ministers that money doesn’t justify not investigating the case.
“Justice is more than money – tell them that.”
Asked how the King responded, Ms Brown said: “He took it on board.”
In a direct appeal to Sir Keir Starmer, she asked the Prime Minister to resolve the scandal “as quickly as you can”.
Ms Brown reached a settlement at the end of last year through the Government’s redress scheme, but said she is yet to receive a “penny” in compensation.
In response the Government said: "We pay tribute to Betty Brown - who is a fierce advocate for postmasters and their families – on receiving her OBE and know we must never lose sight of the immense suffering caused by the Horizon scandal.
“We are acutely aware how pressing the issue of compensation is and are striving to deliver justice as swiftly as possible. So far, we have paid over £1.5 billion in redress to over 12,000 postmasters.”
Betty said she will celebrate the honour by enjoying “the love of my family”.