Sub-postmaster's 'name cleared' as convictions quashed

Lee Williamson says his name is now cleared in full

A former sub-postmaster from County Tyrone caught up in the Horizon IT scandal is to have all of his wrongful convictions quashed, the Court of Appeal has said.

Lee Williamson, from Castlederg, was exonerated after the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) ended any opposition to the legal battle to clear his name.

With fraud and theft offences set to be overturned by new legislation, senior judges agreed to quash four other convictions for forgery.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan declared: “It has been a long road for Mr Williamson, but it has come to a favourable outcome for him today”.

The 49-year-old was one of 26 postmasters from Northern Ireland to be charged after the defective Horizon computer software made it look like money had gone missing.

Mr Williamson said “I feel vindicated for taking legal action. I have always been innocent but can now say that I am officially exonerated. I hope my case has helped others come forward.”

Mr Williamson was accused of stealing and falsifying accounting records at his branch in Portstewart when an audit appeared to show an alleged shortfall of £17,000.

In 2014 he received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty on advice to three counts of fraud by false representation, theft, abuse of his position, and four offences of forgery and counterfeiting.

In total, more than 700 sub-postmasters across the UK were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 for similar accounting errors.

Lee Williamson (left) and his solicitor Michael Madden at a previous court appearance

'Fully exonerated'

Five of Mr Williamson’s convictions are to be automatically overturned under the terms of the new Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act, with confirmation expected in a letter from the Department of Justice.

Although the legislation does not cover the four counts of forgery, it was accepted in court on Thursday that those alleged offences were also linked to the Horizon system.

The decision was reached after studying a report prepared by forensic investigators as part of the appeal.

Senior counsel for the PPS announced that Mr Williamson’s appeal was no longer being opposed.

Dame Siobhan confirmed: “We are satisfied, given the prosecution’s position, that we should allow the appeal on the four convictions that are before us and quash those convictions”.

Outside court, Mr Williamson said he was fully vindicated by the outcome.

“My name has now been fully cleared,” he said.

Mr Williamson also expressed remorse at having pleaded guilty in the first place, describing how he had been struggling with mental health and felt that the charges were “stacked” against him.

“It was on advice that I would get a suspended sentence, but it was one of the biggest regrets I ever had,” he explained.

“I felt like I had let myself down by taking the easy option rather than fighting it."

'You want to protect your family'

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme, the former sub-postmaster described the effect the prosecution had on his reputation.

"It’s a small community here in Northern Ireland, and everybody sort of knows everything," he said.

"So you have the stigma of being bankrupt and the stigma of going to the hospital for poor mental health and the stigma of a criminal conviction."

Mr Williamson explained he had not wanted to draw attention to his own case at the time because he wanted to safeguard his children and get his life back on track.

"You’re almost hiding the fact that you have been prosecuted, and you’re reluctant to actually say anything because you want to protect your family," he said.

"You don’t want the stigma being cast on to your children when they are trying to go to school and trying to make their own way in life."

Mr Williamson added that the stress of the wrongful case against him had robbed him of spending time with his young family and limited his career prospects.

"Your options are limited when you have a criminal conviction in getting a job—a lot of doors are closed," he said.

"I’ve been lucky enough to get a job, but it involves a two-hour commute, so really every day is a 12-hour day, and I feel that I've lost time helping them with homework in the evenings."

But he also said that his acquittal by the High Court on Thursday felt like a "cloud has been lifted from all of us".

"It’s a great amount of relief, but at the same time there’s still a lot of empathy with the other sub-postmasters in similar positions," he added.

'Hell and back'

Mr Williamson' solicitor, Michael Madden, declared that he was now “fully exonerated, having been to hell and back over the years”.”

He said his client would never have been convicted if the Post Office had not withheld IT information.

Referring to the ongoing public inquiry into the Horizon scandal, the solicitor added: “Criminal prosecutions should be taken against any individuals found by the inquiry to have deliberately withheld disclosure in an attempt to save the reputation of the Post Office at the expense of the lives of its sub-postmasters.”