Post Office Horizon inquiry: Lauded postmaster was left homeless and bankrupt

Thomas Brown said he suffered "humiliation, stress and sheer depression" when he was falsely accused of stealing

A former postmaster who was commended for foiling five armed robberies has told how he lost his home and went bankrupt because of the Post Office's flawed Horizon computer system.

Thomas Brown was wrongfully accused of stealing £85,000 while running a Newcastle branch in 2008.

He told the public inquiry into the scandal he felt "violated" when his home was searched for the missing cash.

Mr Brown had previously defied gunmen during a series of raids in the 1980s.

He had been awarded a Certificate of Valour by the Post Office after repeatedly being threatened with shotguns, once having a handgun pushed against his head and a knife held to his throat on another occasion.

Despite this, the Horizon inquiry heard, Mr Brown fell under suspicion at the Post Office when the faulty accounting software showed cash was missing.

Giving evidence, the retired postmaster from Stanley, County Durham, said when he first noticed financial shortfalls at his North Kenton store he believed they were due to a National Lottery terminal.

He recalled contacting the Post Office helpline but was repeatedly told "the transaction would correct itself".

Campaigners won a legal battle to have their cases reconsidered, after claiming the Horizon computer system was flawed

Following an audit, he was told there was an £85,000 shortfall and the Post Office was sending a team to search his home for the missing money.

"I had nothing to hide," he said. "I knew I had not taken the money but I had no idea they had the power to do this.

"I was shocked my house was bring searched, I felt as though my privacy had been violated."

He told the inquiry how being accused of committing a crime had a "detrimental effect" on his mental health because of the "humiliation, stress and sheer depression" of having his reputation "sullied" for a crime "I knew I had not committed".

Mr Brown was presented with a Certificate of Valour by the Post Office for foiling five armed robberies

During the investigation he described the "devastating impact" of losing his business, being declared bankrupt and losing his home and car.

He went to Newcastle Crown Court to argue his innocence but on the opening day of his trial the Post Office withdrew the case.

However, by then, his reputation lay in tatters.

He told the inquiry he wanted "someone to take accountability for the wrongdoings of the Post Office".

More than 700 people received criminal convictions when faulty accounting software showed cash was missing.

It has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history, with dozens of convictions overturned and many more in line for compensation.

It is expected findings from the public inquiry will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Business in the autumn.