Last month, Ultimate Finance had the pleasure of welcoming Lee Castleton OBE to speak at an event we hosted in Leeds. As one of over 700 victims impacted by the Post Office Scandal, the biggest miscarriage of justice in the history of the UK, I am sure that the gravity of what he and others have faced for the last 20 years was not lost on our guests who joined us to hear Lee’s story.
Lee’s story: faulty software and unexplained shortfalls
Lee was the Sub Postmaster in Bridlington, Yorkshire having purchased his Post Office in 2003. Not long after completing the purchase, the lifestyle and business he hoped to have, took a nasty turn for the worse when discrepancies started occurring in the accounting system used by the Post Office, known as Horizon. These discrepancies culminated in the Post Office dragging Lee through the High Court and making him bankrupt for a debt of £23k and leaving him having to pay the Post Office’s lawyers’ fees of over £300k.
But this was a debt that did not exist in the first place. It was a work of fiction, created by a glitching computer system, which at that point in time Lee and many others simply couldn’t prove.
The fight for justice
As the Post Office Scandal Inquiry has gone on to reveal, Lee was to be made an example of – his story would be used by the Post Office to deter others from fighting their case and trying to prove that it was Horizon at fault and not them. Yet Lee, along with many other postmasters, fought to prove their innocence – that the monies they were accused of taking, were not as a result of their actions, but actually a computer system. Even worse, as it later came to light, the Post Office and Fujitsu as owners and architects of that system knew of its failings, knew the postmasters were not to blame and yet continued to hound them. Finally in 2019, thanks to the sheer resilience and dogmatism of a few against an opponent with considerably larger resources and opportunity, a critical Court judgment turned the tide and the Post Office was at last put well and truly in the public spotlight.
The human cost and the impact on Lee’s family
Some of the evidence given during the Inquiry around how the Post Office intended to make examples of postmasters, the sheer disregard and disdain shown for them and how the Post Office congratulated itself when it secured convictions, is excruciating to listen to. This has shaped the tone of the conversation over the last few years. Yes, the Horizon computer system was the central component but ultimately, the narrative has now shifted to examine the human impact of the scandal following the actions of a very British institution and the lengths it went to, to avoid admitting, correcting and making good its mistakes.
Much of the media and press talk has now turned to the compensation schemes. Lee admits that although he has received some funds, he is afraid to use them. Understandable given that for nearly 20 years, he and his family have had nothing but shifting sand to try and stand on.
During our talk, we touched on how his family has come through this with him. His children who were very young when the scandal happened are now grown up. He has a daughter who is now a teacher. A son who is an Engineer. His wife continues to work with her family business. This has all the hallmarks of success – people who despite adversity have moved forward, even if they have come through the situation far from whole.
I am genuinely astounded by the grace with which Lee handles questions in circumstances where many would be simply bitter about what they have had to survive. But I sense there is still sadness, a regret that years have been lost – that maybe in fighting, time was wasted, and it can’t be replaced. Lost hours and family moments, illness, the sheer stress of thinking what’s next and how to keep going. Lee’s daughter, Millie, gave a victim impact statement to the Inquiry. It is worth reading as it provides a different perspective and a sense of how scandals such as this have infinite creep and infect others beyond the immediate victims.
The next chapter
And now, Lee is back in the press again. The dust has settled from the 2019 proceedings, and we wait for the outcome of the Post Office Inquiry which is anticipated sometime this year. Now is his time to fight to have the bankruptcy that was entered against him erased and for it to be publicly recognised and recorded that everything that happened to him was not his fault and for his name to be restored. He is doing this by bringing proceedings against the Post Office and Fujitsu and whilst it appears he needs to draw even more strength to fight again, I truly hope it gives him and his family what they need and deserve.
Why Ultimate Finance hosted this event
It is interesting running an event like this. It is different to the events we usually organise or many of our colleagues will normally attend and one of the questions we have been asked, is why did we do this talk with Lee, what is the Post Office Scandal to Ultimate Finance? As the instigator behind the event, it probably falls to me to explain this better and the answer is strictly speaking nothing – we have no connection to this, no skin in the game. But, and as I often say about my job, as a business we sit in a position of privilege. Ultimate Finance works with SMEs every day and gets to play a part in their story. Some will fail and some will stay with us. Others will go on to grow and do even bigger and better things, but often we get to be a part of some great success stories.
Whilst some people may think finance companies just provide funding, our relationship driven approach is about more than that. Our colleagues form close relationships with those businesses and the people who work in them. They consistently see the highs and lows every day. By sharing stories like Lee’s, I would like to think that Ultimate Finance can offer something which helps add different dimensions to our client’s way of thinking.
Learning from failure and doing better
With very few exceptions, I don’t think any business sets out to end up acting the way the Post Office has, but one of the ways we can all try to ensure this doesn’t happen again, is by talking about it and raising it as an example – sunshine is the best form of disinfectant.
Hopefully, many of us will never know the despair of being called a thief, having their loved ones spat on or physically harmed, or being sent to prison whilst pregnant for a criminal offence they did not commit. But listening to these stories will hopefully help people reflect on how they want to make decisions and deal with the mistakes which shape and grow their businesses in the best way possible.
Growth, profit and progress are all important and it follows that not everyone is going to be happy with the decisions you take or the strategy you adopt, but it can be done right – or at least better.
A mantra to remember
I know that one of Lee’s key messages is to be, and always do, better. It is a pretty sound mantra to apply to any decision and one that sits at the heart of Ultimate Finance’s values – Decency, Brilliance and Enterprise. The postmasters are very clear about people needing to talk about this more and by doing an event like this, hopefully this in turn encourages others to speak and think about the scandal more often and provide another perspective on.
