The former sub postmaster Lee Castleton, played by Will Mellor on TV, is taking both Post Office and tech giant Fujitsu to court in civil case over the losses which he suffered
A victim of the Horizon IT scandal has become the first to sue both the Post Office and Fujitsu in a bid to clear his name.
Lee Castleton was one the key players in ITV drama ‘Mr Bates v the Post Office’. The show highlighted how hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongfully convicted and taken to court after faulty software said money was missing from their branch accounts. Now, Lee is seeking compensation, alleging the civil judgement against him was obtained by fraud. He said: “I want justice and to be publically vindicated.”
He has instructed his solicitors, Simons Muirhead Burton, to issue proceedings at the High Court against the Post Office and Fujitsu on his behalf. While other victims have seen their convictions overturned, the civil judgement against him still stands.
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His legal action is to set aside, or overturn, the judgement. “I’d like to effectively have my day in court as well,” said Lee, who is due to receive his OBE next month.
He told the BBC that he has little faith in the compensation schemes the Post Office has set up to compensate the wrongfully convicted sub-postmasters and that he wants his case to be heard in court instead. A Post Office spokesperson told the Mirror: “We recognise that many victims of the Horizon IT Scandal continue to be impacted by their experience.
“Post Office today is committed to doing all we can to help those affected get closure. We cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings but once we receive the claim, we will engage fully in the process”
Lee did not start the compensation scheme process, although he has received an interim payment. He is taking action to help other victims fighting for their compensation.
The Horizon IT scandal was thrust back into the spotlight when Mr Bates vs the Post Office aired last year. Lee was portrayed by the actor Will Mellor. In 2007, he lost a two-year legal battle against the Post Office after it sued him to recover £25,000 of cash it alleged was missing from his branch in Bridlington in East Yorkshire.
When his legal insurance ran out, he had to represent himself in court and was landed with a bill of £321,000 in legal costs which he couldn’t pay and declared bankruptcy. “We now know from the Post Office Inquiry that they wanted to make an example of me,” said Lee, 55, now an electrical engineer and living in Scarborough.
“Lee faced a David versus Goliath battle against the Post Office; we are ready to take this all the way to trial should we need to,” His lawyer, Simon Goldberg, added. Fujitsu’s log of known errors was not disclosed to Lee during his court proceedings, according to the public inquiry.
The application to the court in Lee’s case will say that the Post Office, conspiring with others, withheld evidence about the unreliability of the Horizon system. A witness from Fujitsu also gave evidence in his case.
“What we’re effectively going to be saying is that the claim against him was an abuse of process. It was never about recovery of the sum of money, it was to make an example of Mr Castleton,” added Mr Goldberg.
“We also believe the judgement was obtained by fraud in that the Post Office and Fujitsu knew perfectly well that the Horizon system wasn’t working properly,” he added. Fujitsu declined to comment when asked about Lee’s legal action.
