Post Office scandal - the West Midlands postmasters forced to sell homes, jailed or died before clearing their names
The convictions of 39 sub-postmasters, punished, humiliated and, in some cases, incarcerated and ruined for something they did not do, have been quashed. Sadly, some died before they saw their names cleared
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In the spring sunlight, they wept and hugged on the steps of Londonâs Appeal Court.
4 hours ago
Two former Post Office workers from Shropshire who were wrongly jailed because of a glitch in a computer system have spoken of their joy and anger, after their convictions were quashed.
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Tracy Felstead, left, and Rubbina Shaheen have had their convictions quashed
Tracy Felstead, 38 from Brookside, Telford, and Rubbina Shaheen, 55, from Shrewsbury, were among dozens to have their names cleared by the Court of Appeal after it ruled that the Post Office s defective Horizon computer system made their prosecutions an affront to the public conscience .
Ms Felstead said she had broken down and cried as she heard her name among the 39 cleared by the court.
Friday April 23, 2021, 2:22 PM
Former subpostmasters Janet Skinner (left) and Tracy Felstead outside the Royal Courts of Justice in March ahead of their appeal. Credit: PA
Watch ITV News Correspondent Nick Wallis live report
Thirty-nine former sub-postmasters who were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting due to the Post Office s defective Horizon accounting system have had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal.
The Post Office prosecutions irreparably ruined the lives of scores of sub-postmasters causing them to lose their jobs, homes and marriages, the Court of Appeal heard last month.
Announcing the court’s ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde said the Post Office knew there were serious issues about the reliability of Horizon and had a clear duty to investigate the system’s defects.
THIRTY-NINE former postmasters wrongly convicted of stealing from the Post Office had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal yesterday after years of campaigning.
There were emotional scenes outside the Royal Courts of Justice as some of those convicted as a result of errors generated by a faulty computer system emerged to cheers from supporters.
Post Office bosses issued abject apologies, but only after the organisation spent years and more than £100 million prosecuting employees for non-existent cash shortfalls, despite knowing that the Horizon system did not work.
Yesterday’s ruling, on top of six convictions already overturned last December, paves the way for hundreds more workers to clear their names.
Former Bransholme postmaster has conviction overturned after 15 year battle for justice
Postmaster Janet Skinner has battled for 15 years to get justice
Janet Skinner
A former Bransholme postmaster is waiting to hear her fate after an almost 15-year battle to overturn her false accounting conviction.
Janet Skinner, 50, was a hard-working and popular postmaster in Bransholme when money started going missing.
She called for an audit and was immediately suspended in May 2006. Less than a year later she pleaded guilty to false accounting and was handed a nine-month jail sentence.
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Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London ahead of the ruling, Ms Skinner said there had been “too many twists and turns in this case” for her to assume the Court of Appeal would overturn her conviction.