Former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton is launching criminal motion towards the Submit Place of business and Fujitsu, changing into the primary person Horizon IT scandal sufferer to sue the 2 organisations.
His case is without doubt one of the maximum prime profile within the scandal through which masses of sub-postmasters had been wrongfully convicted after inaccurate device mentioned cash used to be lacking from their department accounts.
Mr Castleton is looking for reimbursement, alleging the civil judgement towards him used to be acquired through fraud.
“I would like justice and to be publicly vindicated,” Mr Castleton advised the BBC. The Submit Place of business and Fujitsu were approached for remark.
On Tuesday, Mr Castleton recommended his solicitors, Simons Muirhead Burton, to factor court cases on the Prime Court docket towards the Submit Place of business and Fujitsu on his behalf.
Whilst different sufferers have noticed their convictions overturned, Mr Castleton’s civil judgement towards him nonetheless stands. His criminal motion is to put aside, or overturn, the judgement.
“I might love to successfully have my day in court docket as neatly,” mentioned Mr Castleton who’s because of obtain his OBE subsequent month.
He advised the BBC he has little religion within the reimbursement schemes the Submit Place of business has set as much as compensate the wrongfully convicted sub-postmasters that he needs his case to be heard in court docket as a substitute.
Mr Castleton by no means began the reimbursement scheme procedure, even supposing he has gained an intervening time fee.
He says he additionally sought after to take the motion to lend a hand different sufferers preventing for his or her reimbursement.
In 2007, Mr Castleton misplaced a two-year criminal struggle towards the Submit Place of business after it sued him to get well £25,000 of money it alleged used to be lacking from his department in Bridlington in East Yorkshire.
When his criminal insurance coverage ran out, Mr Castleton needed to constitute himself in court docket and used to be landed with a invoice of £321,000 in criminal prices which he could not pay and declared chapter.
“We now know from the Submit Place of business Inquiry that they sought after to make an instance of me,” he mentioned.
“Lee confronted a David as opposed to Goliath struggle towards the Submit Place of business and we’re absolutely in a position to take this all of the solution to the prime court docket must we wish to,” says his attorney, Simon Goldberg.
Throughout the general public inquiry it emerged that that Fujitsu’s log of identified mistakes wasn’t disclosed to Mr Castleton all the way through his court docket court cases.
The appliance to the court docket in Lee’s case will say that the Submit Place of business, conspiring with others, withheld proof concerning the unreliability of the Horizon device. A witness from Fujitsu additionally gave proof in his case.
“What we are successfully going to be announcing is that the declare towards his used to be an abuse of procedure. It used to be by no means about restoration of the amount of money – it used to be to make an instance of Mr Castleton” says Mr Goldberg.
“We additionally consider the judgement used to be acquired through fraud in that the Submit Place of business and Fujitsu knew completely neatly that the Horizon device wasn’t running correctly,” he added.
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