The Court of Appeal has overturned the criminal convictions of 39 subpostmasters who were blamed and punished for accounting shortfalls caused by computer errors.
After spending many years with criminal records for crimes they did not commit, the subpostmasters won their long fight for justice.
Over an almost 15-year period, some subpostmasters were sent to prison, many were heavily fined, large numbers were made bankrupt and families were ruined. It is often described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in English legal history and is linked to at least one suicide.
The Court of Appeal ruling takes the total number of subpostmaster convictions overturned so far to 45. Six, who were originally convicted in a magistrates’ court, had successful appeals at Southwark Crown Court in December 2020.
Lord Justice Holroyde said the Post Office had failed to investigate the shortfalls and disclose information that could undermine the robustness of Horizon, during the trials of subpostmasters. Three appeals were dismissed.
The Court of Appeal’s decision follows 42 subpostmaster appeals heard last month. Most (39) were not opposed on at least one ground, predominantly that they did not receive a fair trial, known as “limb 1”.
In its referral of appeals, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which referred the cases, said the convictions were potentially unsafe for two reasons. The first was that the computer evidence used in prosecutions was potentially unreliable (limb 1). The CCRC’s second reason for referring cases was that the Post Office knew it was not possible for subpostmasters to have a fair trial but proceeded anyway, which was an “affront to the public conscience” (limb 2). The 39 subpostmaster convictions were overturned on both grounds.
Convictions overturned
Former subpostmaster Seema Misra, who in 2010 was convicted for theft and sent to prison while pregnant, had her criminal conviction overturned. Following the Court of Appeal judgment, she said: “In October 2010, I arrived in court expecting justice to prevail, but the Post Office had other ideas. They were not concerned about my innocence but rather in protecting the reputation of their computer system, Horizon, whose reliability I had questioned in my defence.”
Computer Weekly first revealed the scandal in 2009, with the stories of seven subpostmasters (see timeline of Computer Weekly articles since 2009).
Two of the subpostmasters interviewed by Computer Weekly in 2009 are among those appellants who have had convictions overturned.
Jo Hamilton was subpostmaster in South Warnborough in Hampshire between 2003 and 2005. In October 2003, she started experiencing problems with mysterious losses and was unable to explain them. Hamilton was faced with the prospect of a prison sentence, and to avoid it she pleaded guilty to false accounting, despite having done nothing wrong.
In 2009, she told Computer Weekly the case did not deal with the issue of IT. Hamilton pleaded guilty and was given a year’s probation. Her house was remortgaged to pay the money, and the villagers in South Warnborough collected £9,000 between them to help.
The Court of Appeal also quashed the conviction of Hughie “Noel” Thomas, who spent his 60th birthday in prison while serving a 12-week sentence after being prosecuted for false accounting. In 2009, he told Computer Weekly it was “hell on Earth” and that it had taken him a “long time to get over it”.
Following today’s judgment, Mr Thomas, of Anglesey, said: “At last, justice. It has been a long time – 16 years. Having worked for an institution, a royal one, for 42 years, having been treated along with others very badly, and suffered denials and lies for years, it is not compensation I am after, but my good name and the money I lost and worked for all my life. At last there is hope and light at the end of the tunnel for all involved. My biggest wish would be to meet the people behind the decision-making face to face, and ask them why the ruined so many families’ lives. The question would be, ‘Why?’”
Separated from children
Tracy Feldsted and Janet Skinner, who were imprisoned after being convicted, also had their convictions overturned. Ms Feldsted was 19 when she was imprisoned and Ms Skinner was separated from her two children.
Nick Gould, solicitor partner at Aria Grace Law, which represented Feldstad, Skinner and Misra, said he was “absolutely delighted” for his three clients, but added that it had been “far too long to wait”.
After the first Computer Weekly article was published in 2009, subpostmasters who had experienced unexplained losses but had been told by the Post Office they were the only cases realised the Post Office had misled them. They came together and Alan Bates, who lost his post office after being blamed for accounting shortfalls, formed the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA) campaign group.
For nearly 20 years, the Post Office strenuously denied the Horizon retail and accounting system, from Fujitsu, could be causing the account shortfalls and prosecuted the subpostmasters based on evidence from the system. It was only after a damning High Court judgment in 2019 that the Post Office conceded the computer system was to blame.
The JFSA campaigned from 2009, and in 2018 took the Post Office to the High Court in the Bates and others versus Post Office group litigation.
Post Office denial
In his judgments, High Court judge Peter Fraser found that the Horizon system, contrary to Post Office claims, was not robust and was prone to errors that could cause unexplained losses. He described the Post Office’s denial that Horizon could be to blame as “the 21st century equivalent of maintaining that the Earth is flat”.
He also said the Post Office had engaged in “oppressive behaviour” when demanding sums of money that could not be accounted for by subpostmasters. The Post Office conceded, apologised, agreed to pay £57.75m damages and promised to change its ways.
Bates said of the convictions being overturned: “It is really great news for the 39, a true travesty of justice that should never have been allowed to happen, but happened because the government failed to manage the Post Office, which it had a statutory duty to.”
The CCRC began reviewing subpostmaster claims of wrongful prosecution in 2015, and soon after, the High Court judgment referred them for appeal, in the biggest group referral of potential miscarriages of justice in history.
There could be many more appeals. Between 2000 and 2015, the Post Office, through its power to prosecute privately, led to the conviction of 736 subpostmasters. The CCRC said it is currently reviewing another 22 cases. Meanwhile, the Scottish CCRC is currently reviewing five cases.
Bittersweet moment
Tim McCormack, a former subpostmaster who has campaigned for justice for affected subpostmasters, said: “Today’s quashing of so many convictions is truly a bittersweet moment for me. I am delighted for all but saddened by the fact that several are no longer with us. I’ll drink a toast to the memory of Julian Wilson tonight.”
Julian Wilson died before seeing his conviction overturned. His wife Karen carried on his fight for justice.
“This is not the end of the road.,” added McCormack. “There are so many unanswered questions.”
Post Office chairman Tim Parker said the Post Office was extremely sorry for the impact on the lives of these postmasters and their families caused by historical failures.
“We are contacting other postmasters and Post Office workers with criminal convictions from past private Post Office prosecutions who may be affected, to assist them to appeal should they wish,” he said. “The Post Office continues to reform its operations and culture to ensure such events can never happen again.
“The full ruling by the Court of Appeal judges published today is detailed, therefore Post Office will assess the judgment carefully to understand what further action may be required,” said Parker.
