Post Office scandal: Dozens of staff convicted of stealing money have had their names cleared
Vindicated Post Office staff break down in tears outside court after dozens who were convicted of stealing money because of faulty Horizon computer system finally have their names cleared
- Thirty-nine out of 42 former postmasters and postmistresses have had their convictions quashed today
- Post Office sacked or prosecuted hundreds between 1999 and 2015 for stealing money due to IT system
- Court of Appeal judges today ruled Post Office knew Fujitsu-developed Horizon computer system was flawed
Vindicated former postmasters today wept outside the Royal Courts of Justice as 39 men and women became the first to have their convictions for stealing money from the Post Office quashed after hundreds were bankrupted, sacked or jailed in one of Britain’s biggest miscarriages of justice.
Hundreds of Post Office staff were blamed for losses in branch accounts caused by serious defects in the Fujitsu-developed Horizon computer system between 1999 and 2015 and were either convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting or hounded out of work and forced to pay thousands.
The Post Office concealed evidence of flaws in the IT software ‘from the courts, prosecutors and defence’ to protect the institution ‘at all costs’ and instead forced its staff to plead guilty to crimes they did not commit.
Former postmasters have since described how the ordeal blighted their lives as they lost their homes and their marriages. Some such as Martin Griffiths, who was falsely suspected of taking £60,000, took their own lives, while others have since died and ‘gone to their graves’ with convictions to their name.
In a landmark ruling at the Court of Appeal in London today, Lord Justice Holroyde said the Post Office ‘knew there were serious issues about the reliability of Horizon’ but ‘consistently asserted [it] was robust and reliable’, and ‘effectively steamrolled over any subpostmaster who sought to challenge its accuracy’.
The court also allowed 39 of the appeals on the basis that their prosecutions were an affront to the public conscience. Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Picken and Mrs Justice Farbey, said: ‘Post Office Limited’s failures of investigation and disclosure were so egregious as to make the prosecution of any of the ‘Horizon cases’ an affront to the conscience of the court.’
However, three of the former postmasters – Wendy Cousins, Stanley Fell and Neelam Hussain – had their appeals dismissed by the court. Lord Justice Holroyde said the Court of Appeal had concluded that, in those three cases, ‘the reliability of Horizon data was not essential to the prosecution case and that the convictions are safe’.
The Post Office spent £32million to deny any fault in Horizon before capitulating. It has already paid a £58million settlement to 557 postmasters following an acrimonious High Court battle, but now faces a further 2,400 claims under a new compensation scheme.
In a statement after the ruling, Post Office chairman Tim Parker said: ‘The Post Office is extremely sorry for the impact on the lives of these postmasters and their families that was caused by historical failures.
Former post office worker Noel Thomas, who was convicted of false accounting in 2006, celebrates with his daughter Sian outside the Royal Courts of Justice
Former post office worker Janet Skinner (left) speaks to the media outside the Royal Courts of Justice
Former Post Office sub-postmasters and supporters gather outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London
Former Post Office subpostmaster Noel Thomas (left) reacts to the verdict outside The High Court
Former post office worker Noel Thomas, who was convicted of false accounting in 2006, celebrates with his daughter Sian outside the Royal Courts of Justice
Protesters outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, April 23, 2021, where dozens of former subpostmasters who were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting
From wrongful imprisonment to strokes and even suicide: How the Horizon IT scandal devastated victims lives
Welsh postmaster jailed for nine months ‘fell off the ladder’ after conviction – before picking himself up and seeking challenge to Post Office prosecution
Noel Thomas was jailed for nine months in 2006 after he was accused of stealing £48,000
Noel Thomas was jailed for nine months in 2006 after he was accused of stealing £48,000 while he was working for the Post Office in Gaerwen on Anglesey.
He told the BBC that he admitted to the charge because he never reported discrepancies he noticed, but insisted he did not take the money and blamed the Horizon computer system.
‘I want everyone to have their name cleared and to get to the bottom of what has happened and where the money has gone to,’ Mr Thomas told BBC Newyddion 9.
‘Thirteen years after jail, I must admit it was hard but I gradually got my confidence back through family, friends and work colleagues.
‘Yes, I do feel bitter, and not just for myself – the Post Office have been coming and telling people that they have taken money, that they are a thief.’
Family of postmaster who killed himself after being wrongly accused of theft demand Post Office bosses are held accountable
Martin Griffiths, 59, took his own life in 2013 after he was falsely suspected of stealing money from Post Office
Father-of-two Martin Griffiths, 59, took his own life in 2013 after he was falsely suspected of stealing money from a Post Office in Ellesmere Port, where he had worked for around 20 years.
Mr Griffiths was one of hundreds of postmasters who were suspected of false accounting and theft, with some fired or wrongfully convicted, after amounts appeared to vanish from their tills.
The family of Mr Griffiths said he delved into his own savings and those of his parents to pay back around £60,000 he was wrongly suspected of taking from the branch.
The turmoil lasted for four years, between 2009 and 2013, and had a huge impact on the father-of-two’s physical and mental health, his family said.
In 2013, Mr Griffiths parked his car on the A41 in Ellesmere Port after leaving a note for his loved ones and took his own life.
His family have called for a stricter line of review from the Government and asked for a judge-led enquiry to get to the bottom of the injustices behind the scandal.
Postmaster caught up in major IT scandal which saw many falsely accused of accounting fraud suffered a STROKE after he was hounded for £65,000
Peter Murray said he suffered a series of breakdowns and a stroke after he was hounded for £65,000
Peter Murray said he suffered a series of breakdowns and a stroke after he was hounded for £65,000. The 53-year-old, from Wallasey in Merseyside, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said he was suspended without pay and forced to take out loans and borrow from friends to make monthly repayments to the Post Office.
He paid £1,000 a month before learning that he was among many sub-postmasters to face false accusations.
‘It left me completely devastated,’ added the father of three. ‘It caused absolute havoc for my family, I have had several nervous breakdowns. It made me feel like a convict, but I’m not going to let it beat me.’
Wife finally clears name of her postmaster husband after he died while still facing false Post Office claim he had stolen £46,000
Marion Holmes, 78, won justice for her late husband, Peter Holmes, who was a respected postmaster in Jesmond, Newcastle, before the Post Office Horizon scandal ‘destroyed’ his good name
Marion Holmes, 78, won justice for her husband, Peter, who was a respected postmaster before the Post Office Horizon scandal ‘destroyed’ his good name.
Ex-police officer Peter Holmes had successfully run a sub Post Office in Jesmond, Newcastle, for 13 years, before his world came crashing down due to issues with the Horizon computer system.
When more than £46,000 went missing from his books in 2008, Peter found police at his door and shocking criminal accusations made against him.
He was forced to admit four counts of false accounting in order to for prosecutors to drop charges of theft of the money, which could have seen him sent to prison.
In fact, Peter was one of a number of people wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office over errors its own system had made.
‘Post Office stopped prosecutions soon after its separation from Royal Mail a decade ago and has throughout this appeals process supported the overturning of the vast majority of convictions.
‘We are contacting other postmasters and Post Office workers with criminal convictions from past private Post Office prosecutions that may be affected, to assist them to appeal should they wish.
‘Post Office continues to reform its operations and culture to ensure such events can never happen again.’
In a statement, Helen Pitcher, chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – which referred the 42 subpostmasters’ convictions to the Court of Appeal – said: ‘This has been a serious miscarriage of justice which has had a devastating impact on these victims and their families.
‘Every single one of these convictions has clearly had a profound and life-changing impact for those involved.
‘Six convictions had already been quashed which had been referred to Southwark Crown Court.
‘The Post Office has rightly acknowledged the failures that led to these cases and conceded that the prosecutions were an abuse of process.
‘We sincerely hope that lessons will be learned from this to prevent anything similar happening elsewhere in the future.’
The CCRC also said anyone who ‘believes their criminal conviction may be unsafe because of the impact on their case of performance issues with the Horizon computer system’ should consider challenging their conviction.
Harjinder Butoy, who was convicted of theft and jailed for three years and four months in 2008, described the Post Office as ‘a disgrace’ after his conviction was overturned.
Mr Butoy, who was a subpostmaster in Nottingham, said his conviction and imprisonment ‘destroyed my life for 14 years – that’s not going to be replaced’.
Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice, he said those responsible for the scandal ‘need to be punished, seriously punished’.
He added: ‘They’re just bullies, that’s all they are … somebody needs to really, really sort this out and charge them for this. It can’t be pushed under the carpet now.’
Janet Skinner – who pleaded guilty to false accounting and was sentenced to nine months in prison in 2007 – left the Royal Courts of Justice in London to cheers from former subpostmasters and their supporters.
Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Ms Skinner said she was ‘relieved’ to have finally cleared her name.
She added that to win her case on both grounds of appeal was ‘amazing’.
Asked what her message was to those responsible for the prosecutions of dozens of subpostmasters, Ms Skinner said: ‘Watch your backs.’
In the Court of Appeal’s written ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde said Post Office Limited (POL) ‘knew that there were problems with Horizon’.
The judge added: ‘POL knew that subpostmasters around the country had complained of inexplicable discrepancies in the accounts.
‘POL knew that different bugs, defects and errors had been detected well beyond anything which might be regarded as a period of initial teething problems.
‘In short, POL knew that there were serious issues about the reliability of Horizon.’
Lord Justice Holroyde continued: ‘Yet it does not appear that POL adequately considered or made relevant disclosure of problems with or concerns about Horizon in any of the cases at any point during that period.
‘On the contrary, it consistently asserted that Horizon was robust and reliable.
‘Nor does it appear that any attempt was made to investigate the assertions of subpostmasters that there must be a problem with Horizon.
‘The consistent failure of POL to be open and honest about the issues affecting Horizon can, in our view, only be explained by a strong reluctance to say or do anything which might lead to other subpostmasters knowing about those issues.’
The court’s written ruling also said: ‘These pervasive failures of investigation and disclosure went in each case to the very heart of the prosecution.
‘Whatever charges were brought against an individual appellant, and whatever pleas may ultimately have been accepted, the whole basis of each prosecution was that money was missing from the branch account: there was an actual shortfall, which had been caused by theft on the part of the subpostmaster, or at best had been covered up by false accounting or fraud on the part of the subpostmaster.
‘But in the ‘Horizon cases’, there was no evidence of a shortfall other than the Horizon data.
‘If the Horizon data was not reliable, there was no basis for the prosecution.
‘The failures of investigation and disclosure prevented the appellants from challenging, or challenging effectively, the reliability of the data.
‘In short, POL as prosecutor brought serious criminal charges against the subpostmasters on the basis of Horizon data, and by its failures to discharge its clear duties it prevented them from having a fair trial on the issue of whether that data was reliable.’
Allowing 39 of the appeals on the grounds that those subpostmasters’ prosecutions were ‘an affront to the conscience of the court’, Lord Justice Holroyde said: ‘Throughout the period covered by these prosecutions POL’s approach to investigation and disclosure was influenced by what was in the interests of POL, rather than by what the law required.’
The judge said there was ‘clear evidence of systemic failures by POL over many years’, with the same failures occurring in ‘case after case, year after year’.
He added: ‘POL as prosecutor knew that the consequences of conviction for a subpostmaster would be, and were, severe … many of these appellants went to prison.’
The judge continued: ‘Those that did not suffered other penalties imposed by the courts; all would have experienced the anxiety associated with what they went through; all suffered financial losses, in some cases resulting in bankruptcy; some suffered breakdowns in family relationships; some were unable to find or retain work as a result of their convictions – causing further financial and emotional burdens; some suffered breakdowns in health; all suffered the shame and humiliation of being reduced from a respected local figure to a convicted criminal; and three … have gone to their graves carrying that burden.’
The Post Office conceded that 39 of the 42 appellants’ appeals should be allowed, on the basis that ‘they did not or could not have a fair trial’.
But it had opposed 35 of those 39 cases on a second ground of appeal, which is that the prosecutions were ‘an affront to justice’.
At the hearing last month, Sam Stein QC – representing five of the former subpostmasters – said the Post Office’s failure to investigate and disclose serious problems with Horizon was ‘the longest and most extensive affront to the justice system in living memory’.
He said the Post Office ‘has turned itself into the nation’s most untrustworthy brand’ by attempting to ‘protect’ Horizon from concerns about its reliability.
He also argued that the Post Office’s ‘lack of disclosure within criminal cases perverted the legal process’, with many defendants pleading guilty ‘without exculpatory facts being known or explored’.
Mr Stein told the court: ‘The fall from grace by the Post Office cannot be ignored. It has gone from valued friend to devalued villain.
‘Those responsible within the Post Office had the duty to maintain not only the high standards of those responsible for any prosecution, but also to maintain the high faith and trust we had for the Post Office.
‘Instead, the Post Office failed in its simplest of duties – to act honestly and reliably.’
Tim Moloney QC, representing the majority of the former subpostmasters, said the Post Office’s failure to investigate the reliability of Horizon was ‘shameful and culpable’.
He added: ‘Those failures are rendered all the more egregious… by the inability of the defendants to make their own investigations of the reasons for the apparent discrepancies.’
Former subpostmasters Janet Skinner, Seema Misra and Tracy Felstead outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, on March 23, 2021
Former subpostmasters Janet Skinner (left) and Tracy Felstead (right) outside the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of their appeal against a conviction of theft, fraud and false accounting
Jo Hamilton outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, on March 22, 2021
What was the Horizon computer system and how did it go wrong?
Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of postmasters were sacked or prosecuted after money appeared to go missing from their branch accounts (file image)
Horizon, an IT system developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, was rolled out by the Post Office from 1999.
The system was used for tasks such as transactions, accounting and stocktaking. However, subpostmasters complained about defects after it reported shortfalls – some of which amounted to thousands of pounds.
Some subpostmasters attempted to plug the gap with their own money, even remortgaging their homes, in an attempt to correct an error.
Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of subpostmasters were sacked or prosecuted due to the glitches. The ex-workers blamed flaws in the IT system, Horizon, but the Post Office denied there was a problem.
In case after case the Post Office bullied postmasters into pleading guilty to crimes they knew they had not committed.
Many others who were not convicted were hounded out of their jobs or forced to pay back thousands of pounds of ‘missing’ money.
The Post Office spent £32million to deny any fault in their IT system, before capitulating.
However, the postmasters and postmistresses said the scandal ruined their lives as they had to cope with the impact of a conviction and imprisonment, some while they had been pregnant or had young children.
Marriages broke down, and courts have heard how some families believe the stress led to health conditions, addiction and premature deaths.
Mr Moloney told the court there was ‘an institutional imperative of acquitting Horizon and convicted subpostmasters… in order to protect Horizon and to protect their own commercial reputation’.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referred the cases of 42 former subpostmasters to the Court of Appeal last year, following a landmark High Court case against the Post Office.
The Post Office ultimately settled the civil claim brought by more than 550 claimants for £57.75million, without admitting liability, in December 2019.
Mr Justice Fraser found Horizon contained ‘bugs, errors and defects’ and that there was a ‘material risk’ shortfalls in branch accounts were caused by the system.
As a result of the High Court’s findings, the CCRC referred the 42 former subpostmasters’ convictions to the Court of Appeal.
Speaking ahead of today’s ruling, former postmaster Noel Thomas tearfully revealed how he was imprisoned after he was accused of stealing thousands of pounds.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that after his conviction he ‘fell off the ladder’, falling from grace within the Anglesey community.
The former council worker added that he believed he will cleared today and is seeking modest compensation from the Post Office after losing an estimated £250,000 as a result of the conviction.
‘It’s been hard, its been difficult, the last year’s been very difficult,’ he said. ‘We lost our eldest son through cancer. He was 50. You know, it’s not easy.
‘I was accused of theft, my Post Office here in the village was found to be over £50,000 short. I had been in touch with the Post Office, they kept telling me: ‘Carry on, we’ll sort it out.’
‘Then I had a knock on the door at half past seven in the morning from two auditors. I explained there was a shortage, they agreed with me when they finished, but in the meantime two investigating officers turned up.
‘I was accused of theft and in about 12 months time the following year, 2006, I was sent to prison. But of course, you see, I found people, other people that were in the same situation, and gradually of course we started meeting one another, going to different parts of the country, getting to know other colleagues, and you know, the pattern was there.
‘You’re pretty respectable in your own village, people relied – I did about 16 years council work. I was involved in other different things and you know, I really fell off the ladder. You soon find who your friends are, if you know what I mean.
Paula Vennells: Post Office boss who ‘knew that Horizon could make money appear to be missing’ as postmasters were blamed for losses – and who sought to shift blame for IT scandal
Paula Vennells is said to have known that money could appear to be missing from branch accounts because of errors in the Horizon computer system
Paula Vennells was the chief executive of the Post Office during the period where hundreds of postmasters were blamed for losses from branch accounts because of errors in the Horizon computer system.
Mrs Vennells, an ordained priest, joined the Post Office in 2007 and was promoted to CEO in 2012. She is said to have known that money could appear to be missing from the accounts.
Over two decades, hundreds of postmasters were bankrupted, sacked or jailed.
After leaving the Post Office, she landed roles as an adviser to the Cabinet Office and chairman of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London. She was given a CBE in 2019 for services to the Post Office and to charity.
The married mother-of-two kept the £4.5million she earnt during her Post Office tenure, and receives £140,000 a year advising supermarket chain Morrisons and homeware retailer Dunelm.
In June last year, she was forced to step back from the Church of England’s ethical investment advisory group due to the furore over the scandal.
In evidence to the Commons business committee she sought to shift the blame for the IT scandal, insisting she did not approve prosecutions of her staff and was misled by computer experts.
She was accused of treating postmasters ‘with contempt and derision’.
‘I had very genuine friends, and working part-time in the garden centre and I’ve got fantastic colleagues, they’ve been behind me all the way.’
He went on: ‘I’ve been told that I’m going to be cleared. There’s four of us in a category A and B situation.
‘We were supposed to be cleared last November but unfortunately that got cancelled and my solicitors did try to get the four of us acquitted straight away but unfortunately with the CCRC sending 46 of us to the High Courts the Law Lords said: ‘No no, we want to deal with everybody together.”
Asked if he was seeking compensation, Mr Thomas said: ‘Yes, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t want a load of money, all I want is my money back, the money I worked for.
‘I reckon I lost about a quarter of a million in this, I was lucky to sell my house, I sold it very cheaply… my salary went which at the time was between 30 and 32,000 a year, and you know my council salary as well – so I was earning somewhere in the region of about 40-45,000 a year.’
Janet Skinner, 50, pleaded guilty to false accounting and was sentenced to nine months in prison in 2007. Ms Skinner, from Hull, told the PA news agency she was hoping to finally ‘get my name cleared’.
Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Ms Skinner said there had been ‘too many twists and turns in this case’ for her to assume the Court of Appeal would overturn her conviction.
She added: ‘When it all started for me in 2006, I never thought anyone would believe anything I said.’
Grandmother Jo Hamilton, 63, who was given a 12-month supervision order and ran a post office in South Warnborough, Hampshire, said before the hearing: ‘I think this is the biggest miscarriage of justice.
‘You think of the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four – but there are hundreds of us. I was 45 when this started. It’s taken up nearly a third of my life. You think it’s never going to end.’
Mrs Hamilton said she admitted false accounting after being accused of stealing £36 000. ‘I was given a 12-month supervision order and have a criminal record,’ she said.
‘But I did nothing wrong. I told them about the problem but they said I was the only one.’
Rubbina Shaheen, 56, is another former sub-postmaster waiting to hear if the Court of Appeal will overturn her conviction.
Ms Shaheen was jailed in November 2010 and ultimately had to sell her home and was forced to live in a van.
She told the PA news agency: ‘It made me feel very small, that I was a criminal when the judge said it, which I never was and I knew I hadn’t done it.’
She served three months in prison, telling PA: ‘It was terrible, really. I tried to keep my head down, keep out of everybody’s way so I could do my time and just get out.’
Ms Shaheen said she was ‘really excited but very anxious’ to hear the Court of Appeal’s decision.
‘It would be nice to have a written apology off (the Post Office) and then everybody who dealt with our cases, who did this to us, to be put into the dock and pay for it,’ she added.
In a statement ahead of today’s ruling, a Post Office spokeswoman said: ‘We sincerely apologise to the postmasters affected by our historical failures.
‘Throughout this appeals process we have supported the quashing of the overwhelming majority of these convictions and the judgment tomorrow will be an important milestone in addressing the past.’
The Court of Appeal hearing is due to begin at 10.30am today, but it is not yet known when the former subpostmasters’ convictions will be formally quashed.
