COWELL VS POST OFFICE: Simon Cowell fiercely defends subpostmasters after scandal-hit choir of 42 auditions on Britain’s Got Talent!

ITV’s hit drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office brought one of the greatest scandals in recent British history to national attention.

Now it’s Simon Cowell vs The Post Office, as the Britain’s Got Talent judge launched into an angry tirade in defence of the subpostmasters who are still fighting for compensation.

Over 16 years, more than 900 subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted, with some jailed, due to the company’s faulty Horizon accounting software.

In emotional scenes during auditions for the ITV talent show this week, 42 former subpostmasters affected by the scandal took to the stage as part of a choir called Hear Our Voice.

At the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, the group performed their own song, Falling Down, in an act of defiance aimed at those who have ruined their lives.

Former subpostmaster Jess Kaur, from Walsall, West Midlands, said on stage: “It’s nice to be standing in front of judges and not in the courts.

“We’re here to let the Post Office know we’re going to get through this fight and win.”

The group won a standing ovation from the judges and the entire theatre.

And fellow ex-subpostmaster Lee Castleton, who was played by Will Mellor in last year’s four-part drama, was seen crying in the audience.

Afterwards a raging Simon said: “I really hope you win this battle because it was disgusting how you were all treated. I think what happened is what happens when idiots are in charge.

“They were bullies, they were stupid, incompetent and crooked. You’ve risen above this and you’re going to win because the public is behind you.

“You should attribute the lyric, falling down, to the morons who were in charge because it’s all going to come falling down — it will on that lot because they are, as I said, incredibly stupid people.”

Fellow judge Amanda Holden added: “That scandal was absolutely outrageous. How brilliant to keep the cause alive with something so positive and joyous.

“You’ve got the whole country behind you.”

They certainly have.