39 subpostmasters convicted of theft and fraud have names cleared
Some were driven to suicide by the error caused by a defective Post Office system
Updated
Protesters outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London
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Thirty-nine former subpostmasters who were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting because of the Post Office’s defective Horizon accounting system have had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal.
THIRTY-NINE former postmasters wrongly convicted of stealing from the Post Office had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal yesterday after years of campaigning.
There were emotional scenes outside the Royal Courts of Justice as some of those convicted as a result of errors generated by a faulty computer system emerged to cheers from supporters.
Post Office bosses issued abject apologies, but only after the organisation spent years and more than £100 million prosecuting employees for non-existent cash shortfalls, despite knowing that the Horizon system did not work.
Yesterday’s ruling, on top of six convictions already overturned last December, paves the way for hundreds more workers to clear their names.
By Press Association 2021
Former post office workers celebrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London (Yui Mok/PA)
Former subpostmasters who were wrongly convicted because of the Post Office’s defective Horizon accounting system have called for a public inquiry into the scandal which “destroyed” people’s lives.
On Friday, 39 former subpostmasters who were convicted and even jailed for theft, fraud and false accounting finally had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal.
Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Picken and Mrs Justice Farbey, said the Post Office “knew there were serious issues about the reliability of Horizon” and had a “clear duty to investigate” the system’s defects.
Former Bransholme postmaster Janet Skinner finally clears her name but more needs to be done
Janet Skinner was jailed for nine months but has had her conviction quashed
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A former Bransholme postmaster is one of dozens convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting who has finally had her name cleared.
Former post office worker Wendy Buffrey (left), from Cheltenham, celebrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice DOZENS of former subpostmasters who were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting because of the Post Office’s defective Horizon accounting system have finally had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal. Subpostmasters’ lives were “irreparably ruined” as they lost their jobs, homes and marriages after they were prosecuted by the Post Office – which knew the Fujitsu-developed IT system had “faults and bugs from the earliest days of its operation”, the Court of Appeal heard last month. Lawyers representing 42 former subpostmasters said evidence of serious defects in the Horizon system was “concealed from the courts, prosecutors and defence”, in order to protect the Post Office “at all costs”.