A former East Yorkshire subpostmaster has said he still wants “vindication” for the way he and his family were treated during the Horizon IT scandal after being made an OBE.
Lee Castleford, 56, from Bridlington, went bankrupt in 2004 after being sued by the Post Office over claims that there was a £25,000 shortfall at his branch which he could not account for.
“People screamed ‘thief’ in the street at myself and my family, my daughter was spat at,” he said. “It’s so much of a fall from grace really and it’s very difficult to take.”
“As a postmaster when things are going well it’s wonderful and it’s very warmly received,” he said. “But when things go wrong and you are suddenly cast out as it becomes very difficult, life becomes very, very difficult.”
Mr Castleton, who was portrayed in ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office by actor Will Mellor, launched a civil action against Fujitsu and the Post Office in March, alleging that they failed to disclose flaws in their software.
He said: “This is not about money or what’s right or wrong, this is about the original case in 2007 and getting vindication for how I was treated.
“It’s very important to me, we have redress, and we have accountability but that we also have our right to be vindicated in a way that the public can see.”
Fellow former subpostmasters Seema Misra, 56, and Chris Head, 47, joined Mr Castleton to be made an OBE at Windsor Castle.
Ms Misra was in tears as she described going from “convicted criminal to an OBE” but said the “fight is still on” for justice despite the recognition.
She was eight weeks pregnant with her second child when she was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment in 2010.
She has been campaigning for Horizon scandal victims since having a conviction overturned in April 2021, in which she had been accused of stealing £70,000 from her post office in West Byfleet, Surrey.
“Going to prison, that’s like a shameful thing,” Ms Misra said. “I’m OK to fight the Post Office day in, day out but it’s just prison I was still coming to terms with.”
Ms Misra said she would continue to fight to see “real culprits go behind bars” for the scandal.
Fight for compensation is still on, say former subpostmasters
All three former subpostmasters said that, while the honour was special, the fight for compensation and accountability is still on.
They said government promises of fair compensation led to expectations rising, but they have been disappointed by the offers they received.
Mr Head, from West Boldon, said: “The government’s rhetoric all the time is that they’re going to pay full and fair compensation and yet then you’re saying people’s expectations have risen from them words and then when the offers drop, they’ve been described as derisory.
“It’s a battle in itself to get increases in small increments.”
Anne had a “real understanding” of the campaign and had “real empathy” for the former subpostmasters and their families, according to all three campaigners.