Vindicated former postmasters shed tears of joy and opened bottles of champagne outside the Royal Courts of Justice today as 39 men and women had 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 innocent Post Office staff were blamed for losses in branch accounts caused by serious flaws in the Fujitsu-developed Horizon computer system which was in use between 1999 and 2015.
Rather than admit the IT system was defective, the Post Office concealed evidence of the glitches and instead forced its own staff to plead guilty to crimes they knew they had not committed, lawyers representing the 42 who sought to get their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal said.
Many postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting, while others were hounded out of work or forced to pay huge sums of 'missing' money. The scandal blighted their lives, as former staff lost their homes and marriages, and suffered ill health as a result.
One former postmaster, Martin Griffiths, killed himself after he was falsely suspected of stealing £60,000, while some have since died and 'gone to their graves' with convictions against their names.
In a landmark ruling at the Court of Appeal 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'.
Outside the courts, former postmasters and postmistresses and their friends and families celebrated the historic event. Noel Thomas, who spent nearly a year in jail in 2006 after being accused of stealing from the Post Office in Gaerwen on Anglesey, burst into tears as he was embraced by his daughter Sian.
'It has been a long, long time. It's a big weight off everyone's shoulders really,' he said.
Tom Hedges, who was convicted of theft and false accounting and given a seven-month suspended sentence in 2011, opened a bottle of prosecco and bellowed: 'It's a wonderful afternoon. When I told my mother, who's 93, I was coming to court she said 'get yourself down to Aldi and get some prosecco'. She said: 'Just remember your name is Hedges not Rothschild, so get prosecco, not Bollinger!''
Tracy Felstead, who was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in a young offender institution in 2002, when she was just 19, cried when she heard that her conviction was being overturned.
Ms Felstead, 38, said she was 'over the moon' by the ruling but remains 'angry that it even got this far and they have been allowed to do this'. She added that anyone who 'genuinely knew what was going on and they tried to cover it up' should face criminal prosecution themselves.
For others, the victory was bittersweet. Julian Wilson, who ran a post office in Astwood Bank, Worcestershire, died before his name was cleared. His widow Karen Wilson, 66, said: 'I promised him I would kept on fighting. And today those judges said he was right. I'm not brave but this was such a massive wrong.
'For 13 years I have lived and breathed it. We almost lost everything.' Mr Wilson's daughter, Emma Jones, 47, said: 'This is a bittersweet day for us. Very unjust, very unfair.'
Harjinder Butoy, subpostmaster in Nottingham 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.He said his conviction and imprisonment 'destroyed my life for 14 years - that's not going to be replaced', and said those responsible for the scandal 'need to be punished, seriously punished'.
In a statement after the ruling, Post Office chairman Tim Parker issued a grovelling apology for 'the impact on the lives of these postmasters and their families that was caused by historical failures'.
The Post Office had spent £32million to deny any fault in Horizon before capitulating and has since paid a £58million settlement to 557 postmasters following an acrimonious High Court battle. It now faces a further 2,400 claims under a new compensation scheme.
-- Edited by Digger on Friday 23rd of April 2021 05:25:26 PM
Anonymous said
Apr 23 5:41 PM, 2021
Never heard of it - haven't checked the BBC afternoon news - but there was nothing on this on the website prior to this. Nothing that made the main pages anyway. Mainly been wall to wall UK is racist and misogynist type stories.
John Doe said
Apr 23 6:01 PM, 2021
Those proved to be involved in the cover up should go on trial.
So many people's lives have been blighted and I do wonder if their were any suicides because of this terrible miscarriage of justice?
Syl said
Apr 23 6:19 PM, 2021
This'll cost them....and so it should.
One postmaster killed himself, and I have just been listening to one of the accused postmistresses who said if she had not been pregnant at the time she would have committed suicide.
Anonymous said
Apr 23 7:03 PM, 2021
Syl wrote:
This'll cost them....and so it should.
One postmaster killed himself, and I have just been listening to one of the accused postmistresses who said if she had not been pregnant at the time she would have committed suicide.
It'll cost us you mean so any financial penalties should be offset with some five and ten year sentences as far as I'm concerned.
Magica said
Apr 23 8:17 PM, 2021
This was so wrong on many counts. Those poor accused. I hope they are recommpenced money wise. I know it won't take the pain, shame and heartbreak away by being accused, but it will hit the PO where it hurts.
Digger said
Apr 23 9:12 PM, 2021
The bitch at the top of the pile, one Paula Venells, raked in 5million bonus while lying about what was going on. She's now working for the NHS. HOpefully, not for long.
What really pisses me off is that the ordinary hard working man in the street stands no chance against top ranking wealthy scumbags and huge corporations like this. All these poor people were innocent, and some died with that slur clinging to them. It's fucking disgusting and heads should roll.
Syl said
Apr 26 12:11 PM, 2021
"The former boss of the Post Office has quit the boards of two major retailers after her former employer was found culpable for one of Britain's biggest miscarriages of justice.
Paula Vennells, who ran the Post Office between 2012 and 2019, has resigned from the boards of supermarket Morrisons and furniture retailer Dunelm this morning.
Reports of problems with Horizon, the Post Office's faulty IT system, were left not properly investigated during her tenure.
There were calls for the company's former bosses to be prosecuted on Friday after 39 sub-postmasters were cleared of theft, fraud and false accounting by the Court of Appeal.
Unions and victims of the scandal have called for Ms Vennells to give back her CBE and the more than £2.2m she received in bonuses during her period at the helm.
Ms Vennells said after the ruling that she was "truly sorry for the suffering caused as a result of [the] convictions" and would comply with the Government's ongoing inquiry into the scandal."
"The former boss of the Post Office has quit the boards of two major retailers after her former employer was found culpable for one of Britain's biggest miscarriages of justice.
Paula Vennells, who ran the Post Office between 2012 and 2019, has resigned from the boards of supermarket Morrisons and furniture retailer Dunelm this morning.
Reports of problems with Horizon, the Post Office's faulty IT system, were left not properly investigated during her tenure.
There were calls for the company's former bosses to be prosecuted on Friday after 39 sub-postmasters were cleared of theft, fraud and false accounting by the Court of Appeal.
Unions and victims of the scandal have called for Ms Vennells to give back her CBE and the more than £2.2m she received in bonuses during her period at the helm.
Ms Vennells said after the ruling that she was "truly sorry for the suffering caused as a result of [the] convictions" and would comply with the Government's ongoing inquiry into the scandal."
"The former boss of the Post Office has quit the boards of two major retailers after her former employer was found culpable for one of Britain's biggest miscarriages of justice.
Paula Vennells, who ran the Post Office between 2012 and 2019, has resigned from the boards of supermarket Morrisons and furniture retailer Dunelm this morning.
Reports of problems with Horizon, the Post Office's faulty IT system, were left not properly investigated during her tenure.
There were calls for the company's former bosses to be prosecuted on Friday after 39 sub-postmasters were cleared of theft, fraud and false accounting by the Court of Appeal.
Unions and victims of the scandal have called for Ms Vennells to give back her CBE and the more than £2.2m she received in bonuses during her period at the helm.
Ms Vennells said after the ruling that she was "truly sorry for the suffering caused as a result of [the] convictions" and would comply with the Government's ongoing inquiry into the scandal."
She is also an Anglican Priest....she sounds full of Christian values....not.
Maddog said
Apr 27 4:15 PM, 2021
Digger wrote:
Maddog wrote:
That's a crazy story.
What really pisses me off is that the ordinary hard working man in the street stands no chance against top ranking wealthy scumbags and huge corporations like this. All these poor people were innocent, and some died with that slur clinging to them. It's fucking disgusting and heads should roll.
I despise abuse of power. It's like a grown man beating on a child, and the hopeless knowledge that the child doesn't have a chance unless good people intervene.
Digger said
Apr 28 3:17 PM, 2021
Maddog wrote:
Digger wrote:
Maddog wrote:
That's a crazy story.
What really pisses me off is that the ordinary hard working man in the street stands no chance against top ranking wealthy scumbags and huge corporations like this. All these poor people were innocent, and some died with that slur clinging to them. It's fucking disgusting and heads should roll.
I despise abuse of power. It's like a grown man beating on a child, and the hopeless knowledge that the child doesn't have a chance unless good people intervene.
That's a good way of putting it.
Digger said
Jan 3 9:33 AM, 2024
Anyone watch the ITV drama series about this? I missed it but the more details come out the worse it all looks.
Maddog said
Jan 3 6:43 PM, 2024
I read this thread again, while also reading the one about the NHS.
Many Americans have said for years that we don't want the same people running our healthcare as are running our Post Office.
While I'm not aware of any similar disgrace at our Post Office, like this case, all Americans are aware of their poor service and not giving a flying fuck.
jackthelad said
Jan 3 8:08 PM, 2024
Maddog wrote:
I read this thread again, while also reading the one about the NHS.
Many Americans have said for years that we don't want the same people running our healthcare as are running our Post Office.
While I'm not aware of any similar disgrace at our Post Office, like this case, all Americans are aware of their poor service and not giving a flying fuck.
The same people who run the mail don't run the NHS.
Maddog said
Jan 3 11:54 PM, 2024
jackthelad wrote:
Maddog wrote:
I read this thread again, while also reading the one about the NHS.
Many Americans have said for years that we don't want the same people running our healthcare as are running our Post Office.
While I'm not aware of any similar disgrace at our Post Office, like this case, all Americans are aware of their poor service and not giving a flying fuck.
The same people who run the mail don't run the NHS.
When I say the same people, I mean the same entity.
Not the same exact people.
Digger said
Jan 4 9:46 AM, 2024
jackthelad wrote:
Maddog wrote:
I read this thread again, while also reading the one about the NHS.
Many Americans have said for years that we don't want the same people running our healthcare as are running our Post Office.
While I'm not aware of any similar disgrace at our Post Office, like this case, all Americans are aware of their poor service and not giving a flying fuck.
The same people who run the mail don't run the NHS.
Royal Mail and the Post Office are totally different entities. Many people think they are one and the same thing but they're not.
This is an absolute disgrace.
Vindicated former postmasters shed tears of joy and opened bottles of champagne outside the Royal Courts of Justice today as 39 men and women had 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 innocent Post Office staff were blamed for losses in branch accounts caused by serious flaws in the Fujitsu-developed Horizon computer system which was in use between 1999 and 2015.
Rather than admit the IT system was defective, the Post Office concealed evidence of the glitches and instead forced its own staff to plead guilty to crimes they knew they had not committed, lawyers representing the 42 who sought to get their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal said.
Many postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting, while others were hounded out of work or forced to pay huge sums of 'missing' money. The scandal blighted their lives, as former staff lost their homes and marriages, and suffered ill health as a result.
One former postmaster, Martin Griffiths, killed himself after he was falsely suspected of stealing £60,000, while some have since died and 'gone to their graves' with convictions against their names.
In a landmark ruling at the Court of Appeal 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'.
Outside the courts, former postmasters and postmistresses and their friends and families celebrated the historic event. Noel Thomas, who spent nearly a year in jail in 2006 after being accused of stealing from the Post Office in Gaerwen on Anglesey, burst into tears as he was embraced by his daughter Sian.
'It has been a long, long time. It's a big weight off everyone's shoulders really,' he said.
Tom Hedges, who was convicted of theft and false accounting and given a seven-month suspended sentence in 2011, opened a bottle of prosecco and bellowed: 'It's a wonderful afternoon. When I told my mother, who's 93, I was coming to court she said 'get yourself down to Aldi and get some prosecco'. She said: 'Just remember your name is Hedges not Rothschild, so get prosecco, not Bollinger!''
Tracy Felstead, who was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in a young offender institution in 2002, when she was just 19, cried when she heard that her conviction was being overturned.
Ms Felstead, 38, said she was 'over the moon' by the ruling but remains 'angry that it even got this far and they have been allowed to do this'. She added that anyone who 'genuinely knew what was going on and they tried to cover it up' should face criminal prosecution themselves.
For others, the victory was bittersweet. Julian Wilson, who ran a post office in Astwood Bank, Worcestershire, died before his name was cleared. His widow Karen Wilson, 66, said: 'I promised him I would kept on fighting. And today those judges said he was right. I'm not brave but this was such a massive wrong.
'For 13 years I have lived and breathed it. We almost lost everything.' Mr Wilson's daughter, Emma Jones, 47, said: 'This is a bittersweet day for us. Very unjust, very unfair.'
Harjinder Butoy, subpostmaster in Nottingham 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.He said his conviction and imprisonment 'destroyed my life for 14 years - that's not going to be replaced', and said those responsible for the scandal 'need to be punished, seriously punished'.
In a statement after the ruling, Post Office chairman Tim Parker issued a grovelling apology for 'the impact on the lives of these postmasters and their families that was caused by historical failures'.
The Post Office had spent £32million to deny any fault in Horizon before capitulating and has since paid a £58million settlement to 557 postmasters following an acrimonious High Court battle. It now faces a further 2,400 claims under a new compensation scheme.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9502925/Post-Office-scandal-Dozens-staff-today-convictions-quashed.html
-- Edited by Digger on Friday 23rd of April 2021 05:25:26 PM
Never heard of it - haven't checked the BBC afternoon news - but there was nothing on this on the website prior to this. Nothing that made the main pages anyway. Mainly been wall to wall UK is racist and misogynist type stories.
Those proved to be involved in the cover up should go on trial.
So many people's lives have been blighted and I do wonder if their were any suicides because of this terrible miscarriage of justice?
One postmaster killed himself, and I have just been listening to one of the accused postmistresses who said if she had not been pregnant at the time she would have committed suicide.
It'll cost us you mean so any financial penalties should be offset with some five and ten year sentences as far as I'm concerned.
The bitch at the top of the pile, one Paula Venells, raked in 5million bonus while lying about what was going on. She's now working for the NHS. HOpefully, not for long.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/apr/23/post-office-aggressive-pursuit-of-staff-ex-boss-paula-vennells
What really pisses me off is that the ordinary hard working man in the street stands no chance against top ranking wealthy scumbags and huge corporations like this. All these poor people were innocent, and some died with that slur clinging to them. It's fucking disgusting and heads should roll.
"The former boss of the Post Office has quit the boards of two major retailers after her former employer was found culpable for one of Britain's biggest miscarriages of justice.
Paula Vennells, who ran the Post Office between 2012 and 2019, has resigned from the boards of supermarket Morrisons and furniture retailer Dunelm this morning.
Reports of problems with Horizon, the Post Office's faulty IT system, were left not properly investigated during her tenure.
There were calls for the company's former bosses to be prosecuted on Friday after 39 sub-postmasters were cleared of theft, fraud and false accounting by the Court of Appeal.
Unions and victims of the scandal have called for Ms Vennells to give back her CBE and the more than £2.2m she received in bonuses during her period at the helm.
Ms Vennells said after the ruling that she was "truly sorry for the suffering caused as a result of [the] convictions" and would comply with the Government's ongoing inquiry into the scandal."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/news/ex-post-office-chief-paula-vennells-quits-boards/ar-BB1g3kf5?ocid=msedgdhp
Good. I don't know how she can live with herself.
She is also an Anglican Priest....she sounds full of Christian values....not.
I despise abuse of power. It's like a grown man beating on a child, and the hopeless knowledge that the child doesn't have a chance unless good people intervene.
That's a good way of putting it.
Many Americans have said for years that we don't want the same people running our healthcare as are running our Post Office.
While I'm not aware of any similar disgrace at our Post Office, like this case, all Americans are aware of their poor service and not giving a flying fuck.
The same people who run the mail don't run the NHS.
When I say the same people, I mean the same entity.
Not the same exact people.
Royal Mail and the Post Office are totally different entities. Many people think they are one and the same thing but they're not.