Chameleon Magazine

The Post Office ruined her life. Now the Treasury wants a cut of the compensation. Justice? Sort of. Ironic? Brutally.

🧾 The Longest IOU in History… With Interest Due to HMRC

After decades of wrongful accusation, ruined reputation, and soul-grinding legal battles, Betty Brown has finally received her payout from the Post Office scandal. The crowd cheers, the media claps, and somewhere in Westminster, a calculator quietly whirs to life.

Because guess who’s got their hand out again? Yep — the very same government that presided over the Horizon IT disaster is about to claim a chunk of her hard-earned justice through inheritance tax. Poetic, isn’t it? Like finally escaping a burning building, only to be billed for fire damage on your way out. 🧯🔥

This isn’t just some bureaucratic quirk. It’s the gall of a system that breaks people, then sends them an invoice for the privilege. Betty’s payout is supposed to compensate for lost years, lost dignity, lost livelihood. But unless she becomes a one-woman economic stimulus plan — Cartier watches, solid gold kettle, custom yacht named “Sod Off, Fujitsu” — a large chunk of that money will simply boomerang back to the same state that enabled her suffering in the first place.

It’s almost genius in its cruelty:

Step 1: Wrongfully accuse.

Step 2: Delay justice for 20+ years.

Step 3: Finally pay up.

Step 4: Wait for her to pass away and scoop up 40% back in tax.

And what does Betty owe the government for exactly? For the luxury of being falsely prosecuted? For watching her name dragged through the mud by a broken system? For surviving long enough to see token restitution before a taxman in a tie knocks on her door?

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about Betty Brown anymore. This is about every victim of institutional failure being treated like a temporary nuisance rather than a permanent priority. Compensation shouldn’t be a round-trip ticket back to Treasury HQ. It should be sacred, ring-fenced, untouchable by the same system that caused the damage.

Unless, of course, the final lesson of the Post Office scandal is this: you can fight the system, but the system always gets its cut. 🥶💸

🔥 Challenges 🔥

What’s the point of justice if the payout comes with a receipt stapled to your will? Should compensation for state failures be tax-free — or are we just dressing up theft as policy? Sound off in the blog comments. 💬👀 We want rage, satire, and solutions. Bonus points for outrageous spending suggestions.

👇 Comment. Like. Share. And maybe buy Betty a tank before HMRC gets there.

The best takes will be featured in the next issue of the magazine. 💣🗞️