In a high-stakes legal showdown, former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton is taking on the Post Office and Fujitsu, the company behind the faulty Horizon IT system, in a £4 million damages claim. The case is the latest development in the long-running Post Office Horizon scandal, which has seen hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongfully convicted due to issues with the software.
Castleton, who was pursued by the Post Office in 2007 to recover £25,000 in alleged missing funds from his Bridlington branch, has now launched his own legal action against the two organisations. His two-year legal battle previously resulted in him being declared bankrupt, with legal costs of £321,000.
The High Court heard that Fujitsu has already racked up more than £700,000 in legal costs, while the Post Office is accused of erecting “hurdles” to make Castleton’s claim “as difficult, time-consuming and expensive as possible.” Castleton’s legal team alleges that the Post Office’s decision to pursue the 2007 civil claim against him was an “abuse of process of the court” and that the eventual judgment was obtained by fraud.
They also claim the state-run institution conspired with Fujitsu to pervert the course of justice by “deliberately and dishonestly” withholding evidence. Castleton is seeking to have the 2019 settlement agreement, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters win their case against the Post Office, set aside, alleging it was fraudulently obtained.
Both the Post Office and Fujitsu have called for Castleton’s case to be split into two trials, with the first determining whether the settlement agreement bars him from proceeding with his individual claim. However, Castleton’s barrister, Paul Marshall KC, has rejected the need for a separate trial, arguing that his client’s claim is “of the utmost simplicity.”
In a written statement, the Post Office said it had made every effort to engage with Castleton to overturn his civil judgment and remained willing to do so, but it did not accept his current claim was “a good one and it had a duty to its shareholders to defend it.”
Castleton, who was one of the 555 sub-postmasters who took the Post Office to court in the landmark legal battle, is seeking “vindication” that the judgment against him, which he says has “blighted” his and his family’s life for 20 years, was obtained dishonestly by the Post Office. He is also seeking to be compensated for the damages he has suffered.
The ongoing legal battle is a testament to the determination of Horizon scandal victims to hold the Post Office and Fujitsu accountable for the devastating consequences of the faulty Horizon IT system.
