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> Home Blog ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’ (niveaux A2/B1)

‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’ (niveaux A2/B1)

636 Views 1 Liked Posted on: March 14th 2024

‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’

Niveau A2-B1

Photo de couverture : ©Brookgardener/Shutterstock

‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’ is a very popular miniseries on British TV. Is the story entertaining? Yes, it is, but the British public don’t love the series because the story is interesting – they love it because it’s true!

goenglish_blog_postmen_corpsun.jpg

image : Shutterstock

goenglish_blog_postmen_corpsdeux.jpg

image : ©  Fred Duval/Shutterstock

What is ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’ about? More than 700 postal workers all over the country were accused of a crime they didn’t commit. They lost their jobs and even went to prison! The managers were found guilty of theft and fraud when money disappeared. But, in fact, the Post Office had faulty accounting software.

The Post Office denied the software that was installed in the 1990s was the problem. But Alan Bates, who is one of the accused postal workers, campaigned for decades to get justice for himself and his peers.

When the miniseries aired in January 2024, the public was outraged. In just one week, more than a million people signed a petition calling for justice. This caused the British government to announce a new law.

As so many people lost their jobs, homes, marriages and suffered mental heath issues after being accused, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed for a law “to swiftly exonerate and compensate victims”. This is the power of TV!

In fact, the public’s reaction to the miniseries was so strong that the Post Office CEO, Paula Vennells, gave back her CBE. What’s a CBE? Only the monarch can award a CBE. It’s recognition of service to the community and stands for Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Justice at last!

entertaining: divertissant

even: (ici) même

to be found guilty of: être jugé coupable de

a theft: un vol

faulty: défectueux

accounting: comptabilité

a software: un logiciel

peers: pairs

to air: diffuser

outraged: outré

swiftly: rapidement

a CEO: un PDG

to stand for: représenter

at last: enfin

Posted in: News

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