Former postmaster Lee Castleton has become the first individual to bring legal action against the Post Office (PO) and Fujitsu for their role in the Horizon IT scandal.

The BBC reports that In 2007, Mr Castleton lost a two-year legal battle against the Post Office after it sued him to recover £25,000 of cash it alleged was missing from his branch in Bridlington in East Yorkshire. Castleton declared bankruptcy after the expiration of his legal insurance ran out left him with a bill of £321,000 in legal costs, the report says.

“I want justice and to be publicly vindicated,” Castleton told the BBC, adding: “I’d like to effectively have my day in court as well.”

On Tuesday, Castleton reportedly instructed his solicitors, Simons Muirhead Burton, to issue proceedings at the High Court against the Post Office and Fujitsu on his behalf.

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“Lee faced a David versus Goliath battle against the Post Office and we are fully ready to take this all the way to trial should we need to,” Castleton’s lawyer told the BBC.

They added: “What we’re effectively going to be saying is that the claim against his was an abuse of process. It was never about recovery of the sum of money – it was to make an example of Mr Castleton. We also believe the judgement was obtained by fraud in that the Post Office and Fujitsu knew perfectly well that the Horizon system wasn’t working properly.”

Post Office no longer to administer postmasters’ Horizon claims

How is the compensation scheme for postmasters being changed?

As of 31 January, approximately £663 million has been paid to over 4,300 claimants. The amount of compensation paid has more than doubled since the end of June 2024. The BBC reports Mr Castleton never began an official compensation bid through the Overturned Conviction Scheme, although he has received an interim payment.

This month, the government took over the handling of compensation claims from postmasters, removing the task from the control of PO. Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said at the time: “My priority upon coming into office was to speed up the delivery of compensation to the victims of the Horizon scandal. We have made significant progress, and we are now moving to ensure there is a quick transfer of schemes from the Post Office to the Department. In the meantime, I encourage all those eligible to apply for redress under the Overturned Convictions scheme and continue to progress their claims with the Post Office until the transfer date.”

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