'New law still won't clear my sub-postmaster dad'

Sub-postmaster Roger Allen was prosecuted for theft by the Department for Work and Pensions

The daughter of a sub-postmaster who was convicted of theft is angry that a new law will not clear his name.

Keren Simpson, 46, said legislation to clear the names of hundreds of people wrongly convicted would not apply to her late father Roger Allen, as he was prosecuted for theft by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rather than by the Post Office.

Mrs Simpson, whose dad who owned St John’s Post Office in Old Lakenham, Norwich, said it was another "kick in the teeth".

A DWP spokesperson said: “The Court of Appeal refused Mr Allen’s appeal based on the compelling evidence presented.”

Keren Simpson said her dad "was an honest man"

Mr Allen and his wife, Julie, bought the post office in 1994.

The DWP accused him of a £37,000 fraud, and he was sentenced to six months in prison.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted due to faulty software.

Three years ago, Mr Allen took his case to the Court of Appeal and claimed that he was a victim, but his appeal was dismissed.

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A new law set to clear the names of convicted sub-postmasters will not apply to people convicted by the DWP.

Mrs Simpson has vowed to continue trying to clear the name of her father, whose funeral will take place this week.

A DWP spokesperson said it investigated offences against the welfare system to protect taxpayers’ money.

"Between 2001 and 2006 a small number of Post Office staff were convicted for welfare-related fraud offences, mostly involving cashing in stolen benefit order books," the spokesperson said.

“These criminal cases followed lengthy, complex investigations, relying on multiple sources of evidence, including filmed surveillance, examination of stolen cashed orders and witness statements."