Post Office Limited (POL) “intended to pervert the course of justice” by relying on knowingly flawed cash accounts, an inquiry submission filed today alleged.
Sir Edward Henry KC, who represents former sub-postmasters Lee Castleton and Seema Misra, among others, in the Post Office scandal, made the remarks in a closing statement for the Horizon inquiry.
Writing for the legal firm Hodge Jones & Allen’s submission in Phase 4 of the inquiry, he accused Post Office lawyers and investigators of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice with Fujitsu staff in the litigation with Mr Castleton.
The former sub-postmaster owned a branch in Marine Drive, Bridlington, east Yorkshire, and was bankrupted by a lawsuit against the Post Office after a shortfall of £25,000 was flagged by his Horizon IT system.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Sir Edward alleged that the Post Office’s reliance upon Mr Castleton’s cash accounts during litigation against him while “knowing there was expert evidence as to its unreliability, was a course of conduct which had a tendency to pervert the course of justice”.
He added: “It allowed POL to obtain judgment for a debt, and the consequent costs order, without producing reliable evidence that the debt was owed.”
More on Post Office Scandal
Related Topics:
The lawyer then said: “There is evidence that this course of conduct was also maliciously intended to pervert the course of justice, because the POL group either knew that the Marine Drive cash accounts may not have been reliable, or they closed their eyes to that knowledge.
“The motive for the course of conduct may have been to protect POL, or their own jobs, and the natural consequence of the course of conduct may not have been desired as such, but that does not mean it was not intended.
Advertisement
“Mr Castleton’s destruction may have been seen as unfortunate collateral damage in order to protect Horizon at all cost.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:22
Sub-postmaster ‘can’t see any end to it’
Castleton bankrupted by litigation
The lawyer made his remarks based on evidence from the litigation against Alan Bates and Phase 1 of the Horizon Inquiry.
Within a year of buying the Marine Drive branch in 2003, Mr Castleton’s computer system showed a £25,000 shortfall.
He had called the Post Office’s helpline 91 times as he believed the Horizon IT system was at fault, but was taken to court by the firm in 2007.
The former sub-postmaster had to represent himself as he could not afford a lawyer, and was ordered to repay the money and pay costs of £321,000, which bankrupted him.
Image: Lee Castleton called the Post Office’s helpline 91 times after his Horizon IT system showed a shortfall of £25,000
Fujitsu ‘lacked knowledge’ of Horizon use
Meanwhile, Fujitsu alleged in their closing remarks that they were unaware of how the Post Office would use information from the Horizon systems against sub-postmasters.
In page nine of their submission, the firm said they accept “that in some cases, although Fujitsu provided no particular support to a prosecution or civil claim… it is nonetheless clear that information derived from the Horizon system was instrumental to a number of the wrongful prosecutions and civil proceedings pursued against sub-postmasters”.
They then alleged “that, once support was provided by Fujitsu to Post Office in a particular case… Fujitsu lacked control, and typically lacked knowledge, as to how that evidence would be deployed by Post Office in that case, or in any subsequent cases”.
The newest remarks are at odds with Fujitsu’s European boss Paul Patterson’s statement to the select committee in January, where he admitted staff knew of bugs, errors and defects in the Horizon IT system as far back as 1999.
A league table of foreign criminals and their offences is set to be published for the first time.
The plans, due to be announced on Tuesday, will reportedly focus on those offenders awaiting deportation from the UK.
The latest data shows there were 19,244 foreign offenders awaiting deportation at the end of 2024, a rise from 17,907 when the Conservatives left office in July and 14,640 at the end of 2022.
Despite more offenders being deported since Labour came to power, the number waiting to be removed from the UK has been growing.
Factors are understood to include the early release of inmates due to prison overcrowding, instability and diplomatic problems in some countries and a backlog of legal cases appealing deportation.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the decision to publish the nationalities of foreign criminals showed Labour had “buckled” under pressure from the Conservatives to disclose the data.
The latest government statistics show there were 10,355 foreign nationals held in custody in England and Wales at the end of 2024, representing 12% of the prison population.
More on Crime
Related Topics:
The most common nationalities after British nationals were Albanian (11%), Polish (8%), Romanian (7%), which also represented the top three nationalities who were deported from the UK in 2024, according to Home Office figures.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to have ordered officials to release the details by the end of the year, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The newspaper reported Ms Cooper overruled Home Office officials, who previously claimed it was too difficult to provide quality data on foreign criminals.
A Home Office source said: “Not only are we deporting foreign criminals at a rate never seen when Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick were in charge at the Home Office, but we will also be publishing far more information about that cohort of offenders than the Tories ever did.”
The source added that ministers wanted “to ensure the public is kept better informed about the number of foreign criminals awaiting deportation, where they are from and the crimes they have committed”.
Datawrapper
This content is provided by Datawrapper, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Datawrapper cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Datawrapper cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Datawrapper cookies for this session only.
Foreign nationals sentenced to 12 months or more in prison are subject to automatic deportation, but the home secretary can also remove criminals if their presence in the UK is not considered desirable.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick welcomed the news, saying: “We will finally see the hard reality that mass migration is fuelling crime across our country… Frankly, the public deserved to know this [detail on foreign criminals] long ago.”
Rachel Reeves will pledge to “stand up for Britain’s national interest” as she heads to Washington DC amid hopes of a UK/US trade deal.
The chancellor will fly to the US capital for her spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first of which began on Sunday.
During her three-day visit, Ms Reeves is set to hold meetings with G7, G20 and IMF counterparts about the changing global economy and is expected to make the case for open trade.
The chancellor will also hold her first in-person meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, about striking a new trade agreement, which the UK hopes will take the sting out of Mr Trump’s tariffs.
In addition to the 10% levy on all goods imported to America from the UK, Mr Trump enacted a 25% levy on car imports.
Ms Reeves will also be hoping to encourage fellow European finance ministers to increase their defence spending and discuss the best ways to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Speaking ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “The world has changed, and we are in a new era of global trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.
“This changing world is unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what tariffs will mean for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security.
“Instead, we must rise to meet the moment and I will always act to defend British interests as part of our plan for change.
“We need a world economy that provides stability and fairness for businesses wanting to invest and trade, more trade and global partnerships between nations with shared interests, and security for working people who want to get on with their lives.”
A woman who was stabbed to death in north London has been named by police – as a man was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Pamela Munro, 45, was found with a stab wound and died at the scene in Ayley Croft, Enfield, on Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.
A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and is in custody, the force added.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil John said: “Investigating officers have worked relentlessly across the weekend to investigate the circumstances around Pamela’s death.
“We continue to support her family who are understandably devastated.”
Image: Police at the scene at Ayley Croft in Enfield
The Met Police has asked anyone with information or who was driving through Ayley Court between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday and may have dashcam footage to contact the force.