Five more subpostmasters have IT system-related convictions overturned
Five more subpostmaster victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal have had wrongful felony convictions overturned.
A complete of 91 former subpostmasters and Post Office department employees have now seen their appeals in opposition to convictions primarily based on proof from the Post Office’s Horizon system succeed, for the reason that first profitable appeals in December 2020.
These are victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal, which between 2000 and 2015 noticed over 700 subpostmasters convicted of monetary crimes primarily based on proof from the Horizon accounting and retail system utilized by Post Office branches, which was discovered within the High Court in 2019 to be error-prone.
There are probably lots of more that would problem convictions.
Therese Gooding, who was sentenced to a group punishment at Liverpool Crown Court in 2001 regarding costs of theft and false accounting, had her wrongful conviction overturned at Southwark Crown Court.
Andrew Gilbertson, who was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 2 years, at Manchester Crown Court in 2002 in relation to an alleged theft of £24,870.71 from his department accounts, additionally noticed his conviction overturned.
The court docket additionally dominated that Elaine Hood’s conviction from over 20 years in the past was wrongful in court docket. She was sentenced to group service and ordered to pay £950 in direction of prosecution prices at Derby Crown Court in 2003, relating to 5 costs of theft.
Amer Hussain, who had his conviction for theft quashed, was pressured to hold out unpaid work and abide by a curfew for six months after a conviction for theft in 2005 and needed to pay almost £7,000 in compensation and £200 in direction of prosecution prices.
Meanwhile, Ian Davies, who in 2006 was fined £500 and ordered to pay over £1,000 in prices in relation to 3 costs of false accounting, additionally noticed his conviction overturned.
Solicitor Neil Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors, mentioned he hopes the most recent profitable appeals will encourage folks to come back ahead.
“We’re pleased to see another five cases quashed by the courts today. The process continues, but one of the real challenges remains the low number of people who have come forward relative to the number of convictions,” he mentioned.
“We are nonetheless speaking beneath 150 from over 700 convictions. We nonetheless get a trickle of enquiries, however it’s a trickle. I feel the point out of the opportunity of over half one million kilos in compensation alongside the quashing of their convictions, assuming the conviction is predicated on Horizon, has to function some added incentive.
Computer Weekly first reported on issues with the system in 2009, when it made public the tales of a bunch of subpostmasters (see timeline of articles beneath).
The Post Office at all times denied that Horizon could possibly be accountable for the shortfalls, and subpostmasters and their households have had their lives turned the other way up, with felony prosecutions for lots of and plenty of more financially ruined.
