Appeal decision step closer for postmaster from Hogsthorpe ‘vindicated’ by court ruling

The four-day hearing at the Court of Appeal will consider convictions against 42 former sub-postmasters, which the group claim are unsafe because of failings in the Post Office's Fujitsu-developed Horizon IT system.

In December 2019, the Post Office settled a group action brought against it by more than 550 claimants, paying out £57.75m without admitting liability.

The Horizon computer system was first installed into Post Offices back in 1999. However, by the early 2000's, money had started disappearing from accounts.

Over the next 15 years, many postmasters and mistresses were charged with fraud and theft, with some jailed.

The Group Litigation judgement ended years of campaigning by those affected, some of whom were made bankrupt and others prosecuted and sent to prison in cases where the software wrongly logged missing funds.

Although it does not change the criminal convictions, those affected said they felt had been vindicated.

One of the postmasters who said he 'lost everything' as a result of the convictions was Tom Hedges, who was sub-postmaster at Hogsthorpe Post Office from 1994 until 2010, when he was dismissed at the age of 57.

The Standard caught up with Mr Hedges before the start of this week's appeal.

"I am sat at my computer eating a piece of toast and drinking my breakfast tea as I will shortly be logging into the court link that allows me to view the momentous proceedings that are about to unfurl," Mr Hedges said.

"I cannot get too excited as the case of myself and 42 others is scheduled to last until Friday and we have already been told that no judgement will be handed down until Friday, April 23.

"To say the least, I am very pleased that this day has come.

"I and my family have suffered for over 10 years due to the management of the Post Office."

Commenting in January last year on the Group Litigation decision, Mr Hedges said: “The accusation almost made me and my wife bankrupt but it also cost us our reputation. At the time many of our customers said they believed us but others who we had considered friends snubbed us and crossed the road rather than speak to us.

“In the end we moved away from the village. To those who did not believe I was innocent, I want to say, ‘You were wrong’."

Post Office Chairman, Tim Parker, commented on the judgement: “We are grateful to the claimants for taking part in this mediation and agreeing a settlement, bringing the Group Litigation to a close.

“We accept that, in the past, we got things wrong in our dealings with a number of postmasters and we look forward to moving ahead now, with our new CEO currently leading a major overhaul of our engagement and relationship with postmasters.”