Postmasters will wait a year in battle to clear their name
A group of sub-postmasters who claim they were wrongly blamed for financial irregularities caused by the Post Office's controversial database will have to wait another year before their case is heard.
A total of 522 sub-postmasters -– some who received jail sentences – have taken a group legal action against the Post Office over its controversial Horizon computer system.
They say glitches in the system caused it to create records of money which never existed, in some cases leading to false accusations of theft.
The judge presiding over the hearing has set two trial dates, the first in November next year followed by a second in March 2019.
This particular action does not include former Shrewsbury postmistress Rubbina Shaheen, who is trying to get her conviction overturned after being jailed for 12 months for false accounting in 2010.
The group action has been brought by former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, who kept a branch in Llandudno from 1998 to 2003.
The first month-long trial, at the High Court in London, will establish the legal relationship between the Post Office and sub-postmasters. As part of this, evidence from six sample cases will be heard.
The second trial will focus on on matters such as the behaviour of the Post Office towards sub-postmasters, including allegations of bullying and false imprisonment.
The Post Office said it would defend the case vigorously.
“We are continuing to address the allegations through the court’s processes and will not otherwise comment on specific details,” it said in a statement.
"We have confidence in the Horizon system, which is robust, reliable and used across 11,600 branches by postmasters, agents and their many thousands of staff, to process six million transactions successfully every day, including on behalf of the UK’s high-street banks.”
Mr Justice Fraser, who presides over the case, has allowed extra time for more sub-postmasters to be added to the case after hearing 70 more sub-postmasters wanted to join the action.
Mrs Shaheen, who kept Greenfields Post Office in Shrewsbury, is seeking to get her conviction overturned through the Criminal Courts Review Commission in a separate action.
The commission has appointed a firm of forensic accountants to look into the Horizon system as part of its investigation into claims of wrongful prosecution.
Mrs Shaheen was initially charged with the theft of more than £43,269 following discrepancies in the branch’s finances.
The Post Office agreed to drop the theft charge as part of a plea bargain which saw her plead guilty to the lesser charge of false accounting.
The 52-year-old said she agreed to plead guilty after being assured she would not go to jail.
She was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Shrewsbury Crown Court, but was released after three months.
