East Yorkshire subpostmaster left bankrupt by ‘inaccurate’ auditor evidence

A Bridlington subpostmaster was left bankrupt after an auditor wrongly accused him of being “sloppy and slapdash”.

A long-running inquiry is taking place into the Horizon scandal which resulted in more than 700 branch managers falsely accused by the Post Office of crimes, such as fraud and theft, due to faulty accounting software.

The public inquiry into the Horizon scandal, which started last year and is led by chairman Sir Wyn Williams, is likely to conclude in 2024. This week the focus is on what happened to Bridlington subpostmaster Lee Castleton. His branch was found to have a £25,000 shortfall and he was made bankrupt after he lost his legal battle with the Post Office.

Read more:

This week the inquiry heard how Helen Rose, who worked as an auditor between 1999 and 2004, issued a signed witness statement in 2006 before civil proceedings involving Mr Castleton, which indicated he was “sloppy and slapdash”.

On Tuesday, the inquiry heard an audit conducted in March 2004 by Ms Rose had actually recorded the opposite.

In her witness statement back in 2006, Ms Rose had said: “The inspection revealed that the safe was left open, the safe keys were left in the safe door and it was not secured, that cash and stock were not secured during lunchtime if the subpostmaster was not on the premises.”

Under questioning from both Counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC and chairman to the inquiry Sir Wyn Williams, the witness said: “I don’t have an explanation as to why that wasn’t taken out.” She indicated that statement was not accurate.

Mr Beer put to Ms Rose: “You’re telling the court in this paragraph here, aren’t you, ‘this man, Mr Castleton, was sloppy and slapdash. There are things that we saw when we audited him that could well explain the missing money’. That’s what this paragraph is for, isn’t it?”

Mrs Rose responded: “That’s what it kind of indicates, yes, but, as I say, I don’t know why that wasn’t picked up at the time of the hearing.”

Mr Beer told the inquiry another part of Mrs Rose’s audit commented on how Mr Castleton seemed “very pleased” to see the auditors and that he had been in contact “regularly” with the Horizon helpline and retail line manager Cath Oglesby.

Mr Beer questioned Mrs Rose: “Do you think these two pieces of information might assist Mr Castleton – he was very pleased or he was pleased to see the auditors and he told you ‘I’ve been in contact with the retail line manager, Cath Oglesby, and the Horizon helpline regularly since these problems began’”?

Mrs Rose replied: “I don’t know. I can’t answer for what I did back in 2004 but I can only presume that the audit report would have been part of the evidence and so it wasn’t duplicated.”

When asked why information detrimental to Mr Castleton was either kept in or added, while details that would assist him were removed, Ms Rose could give no explanation saying: “I honestly don’t know why other things have not been included at the time.”

On Monday, the Government announced that wrongfully convicted subpostmasters will be offered £600,000 to settle their claims.

The Horizon scandal, which has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history, saw more than 700 Post Office branch managers handed criminal convictions after faulty Fujitsu accounting software made it appear as though money was missing. The Government said 86 convictions have been overturned and £21 million has been paid in compensation.

But former Bransholme sub-postmistress Janet Skinner, who was wrongly jailed for theft told the BBC this week a £600,000 compensation offer by the government was “an insult”.

Ms Skinner, 52, was handed a nine-month sentence in 2007 over an alleged shortfall of £59,000 from her Post Office branch in Bransholme, Hull. She served three months in prison before being released with an electronic tag, but eventually had her conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal in April 2021.

The stress of the case had meant she ended up in hospital for four months after she became paralysed and had to learn to walk again. She continues to pursue legal action over her case.

She told the BBC: “If it was a member of their family who had been through what either I’ve been through, or many other postmasters have been through, would they think that was fair for them to accept that?”

“I lost my home. I lost my job. I lost my office when I went to prison. I left my two teenage kids at home. My health just deteriorated. I ended up in Hull Royal Infirmary having to learn everything, and they think £600,000 is going to help me? I can’t work for the rest of my life.”