Former subpostmaster launches legal action against Post Office and Fujitsu

A former subpostmaster is starting legal action against the Post Office and Fujitsu over the Horizon IT scandal.

Lee Castleton is the first individual to sue the two organisations in the wake of the controversy.

“I want justice and to be publicly vindicated,” Mr Castleton told the BBC.

He is seeking to have a civil action taken against him by the Post Office overturned or set aside.

“I’d like to effectively have my day in court as well,” he said.

Mr Castleton was sued by the Post Office for £25,000 it said was missing from his branch in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, in 2007. His two-year legal fight saw him declared bankrupt following legal costs of £321,000.

He said he had little faith in compensation schemes set up by the Post Office for wrongfully-convicted subpostmasters.

According to the BBC, he instructed his solicitors to launch High Court proceedings against the Post Office and Fujitsu on Tuesday.

“Lee faced a David versus Goliath battle against the Post Office and we are fully ready to take this all the way to the high court should we need to,” his lawyer Simon Goldberg, from Simons Muirhead Burton, told the broadcaster.

“It was never about recovery of the sum of money – it was to make an example of Mr Castleton.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We recognise that many victims of the Horizon IT Scandal continue to be impacted by their experience. Post Office today is committed to doing all we can to help those affected get closure.

“We cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings but once we receive the claim, we will engage fully in the process”