The Post Office and Fujitsu are facing accusations of deliberately delaying a former sub-postmaster's attempt to sue them for £4 million in damages related to the Horizon IT scandal, according to proceedings at the High Court. Lee Castleton OBE, who ran a Post Office branch in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, was pursued by the Post Office in 2007 to recover £25,000 that the organization alleged was missing.
Castleton's subsequent two-year legal battle resulted in his bankruptcy, incurring legal costs of £321,000. At the first hearing of his claim on Friday, the court learned that Fujitsu, the company responsible for the faulty Horizon software, had already accumulated over £700,000 in legal expenses. Castleton is the first individual to take legal action against both the Post Office and Fujitsu.
Friday's preliminary hearing addressed how the case should proceed. Castleton's legal team argued that "hurdles" were being placed to make his claim as "difficult, time-consuming and expensive as possible." They further allege that the Post Office's decision to pursue its 2007 civil claim against him constituted an "abuse of process of the court."
The Horizon scandal involved hundreds of sub-postmasters being wrongly accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting due to errors in the Horizon IT system, developed by Fujitsu. Many were prosecuted, bankrupted, and even jailed based on the faulty data. The Post Office has since admitted that the Horizon system contained defects and has been working to compensate those affected.
Emma Simpson, BBC business correspondent, reported that Castleton's case is significant as it directly targets both the Post Office and Fujitsu, seeking to hold them accountable for the financial and personal devastation caused by the Horizon system. Tom Beal, another former sub-postmaster impacted by the scandal, has been closely following the proceedings.
The current status of Castleton's claim is that the court is considering how the case will proceed, including the scope of evidence and the timeline for future hearings. The allegations of delay tactics by the Post Office and Fujitsu will likely be a key focus as the case moves forward. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for other sub-postmasters seeking redress for the injustices they suffered.
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