Post Office scandal victim presents award at the BRITs, says government “is not paying them”

The Post Office scandal made a surprise impact at tonight’s BRIT Awards, with one of the victims saying from the O2 stage that the government “is not paying the postmasters”.

Jo Hamilton, one of the sub-postmasters at the heart of the Horizon Post Office scandal, and Monica Dolan, who portrayed her in the ITV drama Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office, were presenting the award for Song Of The Year.

Hamilton thanked the public for their support since the scandal rose to prominence earlier in the year and said that “despite what the government are saying, they are not paying the postmasters”.

Raye won the award for her song ‘Escapism’, which features 070 Shake. Raye entered the awards show as the artist with the most nominations, at seven in total. ‘My 21st Century Blues’, the record from which the song is taken, is nominated for Album Of The Year.

As the first award of the evening, the choice of presenters came as a surprise to a lot of viewers, with one writing on X: “Is the Brits really the right place to be addressing the Post Office scandal?”

Check out a range of reactions to the Post Office scandal infiltrating the BRITs below:

I just turned on the Brits & they had two people from the Post Office scandal presenting an award. pic.twitter.com/OkO9ERjXER

— Bacardi Oakheart (@Midgetgems26) March 2, 2024

What the fuck is happening with someone from the post office giving away a brit award most awkward thing I’ve ever seen #BRITs pic.twitter.com/pb64ZQJqND

— Ryan (@RyanS_UK) March 2, 2024

What’s the post office lady doing here #BRITs pic.twitter.com/Qj5ZOaZ3yz

— tez (@tezdamn) March 2, 2024

Jeez is that #BritAwards crowd dead. I don't mean to knock it, but is the Brits really the right place to be discussing the Post Office scandal?

— Mark McKillen (@MarkMcKillen) March 2, 2024

A post office scandal victim presenting a Brit award??? #BRITs pic.twitter.com/UA84lQvvg6

— James Delamare (@JamesDelamare) March 2, 2024

Sorry but it is funny that Raye gave the woman from the post office more attention than Taylor Swift gave Celine Dion #brits

— Daniel (@sillyolddaniel) March 2, 2024

The ceremony took place at The O2 in London, with the show being presented by a trio of hosts – Maya Jama, Clara Amfo and Roman Kemp.

Dua Lipa opened the show with a performance of her new single ‘Training Season’, with further performances coming from Raye, Tate McRae, Jungle, Rema, Becky Hill and Chase & Status, and Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding.

Kylie Minogue, who is picking up this year’s BRITs Global Icon Award, is set to close the show with her own live performance.

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source https://www.nme.com/news/music/post-office-scandal-victim-presents-award-at-the-brits-says-government-is-not-paying-them-3595764?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=post-office-scandal-victim-presents-award-at-the-brits-says-government-is-not-paying-them