Two more former sub-postmasters today had longstanding convictions quashed as cases continue to be brought before the courts in the Post Office Horizon Scandal.
It means a total of 75 people have now had their names cleared – and with more cases currently sat with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and filed with the Court of Appeal, that number could soon surpass 100.
Of those cleared today was Gillian Harrison, former sub-postmistress of Dresden Post Office in Stoke-on –Trent, a role she fulfilled for around 25 years.
She was taken to court in July 2005 over a shortfall in accounts of just £1,474 and handed a sentence of a 12 month community rehabilitation order, a costs order of £320 and a compensation order of £1474.00 to ‘repay’ the Post Office.
During interviews, she always emphatically denied taking any money from the accounts and the CCRC, which assessed her case before referring it for appeal, concluded there was no evidence of theft other than the losses which were recorded on the Horizon system.
Although like many others she did not blame Horizon at the time, the CCRC said it was clear she was indicating that something fundamental to the Post Office system was producing incorrect balances, and that she had sought to correct the issue.
Also cleared of any wrongdoing was Richard Ormerod, 77, of Darlington.
He was handed a conditional discharge for 12 months and made to pay costs of £250 after being convicted of three counts of dishonestly falsifying documents in 2004, over a shortfall in accounts of £31,097.
He had kept the books at the Summerhouse sub-post office branch, which was run by his wife, near Darlington, for 24 years, but only started to have issues after the Horizon system was installed.
Like many others, he found Horizon wasn’t showing the transactions when making deposits and when he raised the matter with the Post Office he was told it would rectify itself.
Some payments later showed, but others didn’t, and when he was interviewed by Post Office representatives he denied taking the money throughout.
However, facing the prospect of a prison sentence by going to court and denying the charges against computer-based evidence, he pleaded guilty to the charges.
He told the court at the time that he didn’t know how the discrepancy had happened, and that it must have been a mistake, or a technical error.
‘Every sub-postmaster affected deserves their day in court to clear their names’
Solicitor Neil Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors, said afterwards: “Each and every conviction overturned is a hugely important milestone. Each new case at court is as important as the very first because every case relates to lives ruined by the Post Office.
“Every sub-postmaster affected deserves their day in court to have their names and reputations cleared, but they also deserve so much more. They deserve offers of meaningful compensation, and soon.
“Following today’s court hearing we now have 62 clients who have had their convictions overturned – the first of which were in December 2020.
“We have a significant number of further cases being reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission for potential referral to the Court of Appeal, and another batch of cases sat awaiting responses from the Post Office.
“Sadly there remain a considerable number out there, with no redress, quite how many we do not know.
“These people need closure, and full compensation. As I have said before, time is not on the side of many and we need to continue to push hard to ensure they receive the full and proper compensation they deserve.”
If you were affected by the Post Office Horizon Scandal and are yet to secure justice, call our team today or email [email protected]
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