Oxford victims wrongly prosecuted for failings in Post Office's Horizon software

Margaret White, then 46, told Oxford Crown Court in 2007 that she had no idea why there was a shortfall in the accounts.

At the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, a lawyer acting for the Post Office accepted that Mrs White’s was another case linked to the Horizon IT system.

The flawed software, built by Japanese firm Fujitsu, was introduced in 1999 to assist with things like stocktaking and logging transactions.

Postmasters increasingly complained of bugs in the system, causing it to report shortfalls in accounts. Some tried to plug the mystery shortfalls with their own money.

READ MORE: Post Office manager convicted of swindling £36,000 is fighting back

More than 730 postmasters and sub-postmasters were prosecuted between 2000 and 2014.

In 2019, 555 sub-postmasters won a High Court claim against the Post Office, paving the way for millions of pounds in payouts and leading to the Court of Appeal quashing a series of wrongful criminal convictions.

However, because of a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement with their legal funders they received only a fraction of the £43 million they were awarded - about £20,000 each.

At the same time, they found they were ineligible to apply to the Historical Shortfall Scheme (HSS) which was set up to by the Post Office to compensate those who had to personally cover shortfalls in their branch's accounts due to the problems with Horizon.

Earlier this week, the Treasury said the new scheme would ensure the 555 would see the same level of compensation as those who claimed through the HSS.

READ MORE: Another former Oxford postmistress wins appeal

Retired High Court judge Sir Wyn Williams is currently conducting a lengthy inquiry into the Horizon scandal.

Post Office file image Picture: PA WIRE

Margaret White, Banbury Road

Margaret White, the former manager of the Banbury Road Post Office in Oxford, had admitted two counts of false accounting after an audit of the IT system showed a shortfall of more than £28,000.

In December 2007, Mrs White, then 46, was given a sentence of 51 weeks in prison suspended for two years at Oxford Crown Court, as well as two years' supervision and 150 hours of unpaid work.

But on Tuesday, Mrs White - formerly Miss Sowinska - had her convictions overturned at the Court of Appeal.

Simon Baker QC, for the Post Office, said: "The respondent accepts that Horizon reliability was essential to her prosecution and conviction."

He added: "This was not a case where there was any evidence independent of Horizon to establish the fact of the shortfall.

"Indeed, the essence of Mrs White's account in her interview was that she could not explain the shortfall."

Quashing the convictions, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Picken and Mrs Justice Farbey, said: "As a matter of law, the fact that she pleaded guilty is not itself necessarily a bar to an appeal against conviction."

"We are satisfied that Mrs White's convictions are unsafe," he added.

File image of Court of Appeal Picture: PA WIRE

Vipinchandra Patel, Horspath

Former Horspath postmaster Vipinchandra Patel was charged with stealing £75,000 from the Post Office.

He was convicted of fraud and given an 18 week suspended prison sentence at the magistrates’ court in 2011.

As in so many cases, he was blameless. Again, the ‘missing’ funds were the result of an error in the Horizon IT software

Mr Patel’s conviction was quashed on appeal at Southwark Crown Court in 2020 – one of the so-called ‘Southwark Six’ who had their convictions overturned at the London court.

Vipinchandra Patel with his wife Jayshriben Picture: DAVID FLEMING/OM

At the time, he said: "What the Post Office has done is abuse of power and authority.

"People picked on me and my wife: we suffered abuse, people stopped coming into the shop and the business went down.

"I felt suicidal a few times before the court case, but the thought of my family kept me going."

Earlier this year, son Varchas Patel called on the government to pay long-promised compensation sooner rather than later.

The 34-year-old told the Oxford Mail: “We’ve all suffered damage which is not repairable,” he said.

“We would all like to be paid in full – financially – and for me as a son and speaking specifically for dad, my dad’s disabled, he walks with crutches, he walks with sticks, no amount of compensation will ever put his physical health back right.”

Kashmir Gill, Cowley Road 

Former Cowley Road postmistress Kashmir Gill was one of scores of Post Office workers who had fraud convictions overturned last year.

In 2010, she admitted two counts of false accounting at Oxford Crown Court relating to £57,000 that Post Office Limited alleged was missing. She agreed to pay that sum and was fined £485.

Her case was one of dozens linked to the discredited Horizon computer system, which created errors in the accounts that made it looked like postmasters and postmistresses were stealing money when they were not.

Kashmir Gill Picture: ED NIX

In April last year, her convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal. In his judgement, Lord Justice Holroyde recorded that the Post Office Limited accepted Ms Gill’s prosecution was unfair.

He added: “We are bound to conclude that her prosecution was in addition an affront to justice. The public interest requires us to mark this latter conclusion.”

READ MORE: 'The Post Office ruined my life and took our savings – now, at least, we have justice'

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