Lee Castleton: Yorkshire sub-postmaster sues Post Office and Fujitsu for £4m in damages
A former Yorkshire sub-postmaster is suing the Post Office and Fujitsu for more than £4m over the Horizon scandal, court documents have revealed.
Lee Castleton, of Scarborough, became the first individual to sue the two organisations in the wake of the controversy, and this is the first time details of a compensation claim have been made public.
More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly convicted after faulty Fujitsu accounting software made it appear as though money was missing from their shops.
Many more, such as Mr Castleton, were left destitute, losing their homes and livelihoods, as the Post Office relentlessly pursued them, continually claiming there were no issues with its computer system.
Mr Castleton was sued by the Post Office for £25,000 it said was missing from his branch in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, in 2007. His two-year legal fight saw him declared bankrupt following legal costs of £321,000.
The scandal has been described as the UK’s “biggest miscarriage of justice”, and burst into the public consciousness with the ITV drama called Mr Bates vs the Post Office starring Toby Jones.
Mr Castleton, played by Will Mellor in the TV show, told the BBC: “I want it to be made public. This is what they did to me and my family.
“It's not about the money. What matters to me is that I get vindication from the court.”
His £4m claim includes £940,000 of lost past earnings as well as £864,000 in future loss of earnings.
It also has £45,000 for harassment, £50,0000 for maliciously causing bankruptcy and £30,000 for stigma and damage to reputation.
Explaining the figures, Mr Castleton’s solicitor Simon Goldberg said: "When your life, as well as your family's, has literally been ruined it results in a substantial claim.
"The reason it's so startling is that it's the first time that the forensic details of a sub-postmaster's claim have been made public. Like many others, Lee has a very complex case, and the figures have been calculated by experts who are leaders in their field," Mr Goldberg, from Simons Muirhead Burton, added.
There are currently a number of government compensation schemes available, although Mr Castleton has not applied to these as he said he wants a judge to decide.
The former Bridlington sub-postmaster was one of 55 who took the Post Office to court in a landmark case in 2019 and won.
He claimed that settlement doesn’t apply to his £4m claim, as he says his bankruptcy was obtained by fraud.
A Post Office spokesperson said: "We recognise the devastating impact of the Horizon IT Scandal on former postmasters like Mr Castleton. Post Office today is committed to doing all we can to help those affected get closure.
"We cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings but are engaging fully in the process." Fujitsu declined to comment.