Post Office scandal victim Lee Castleton has opened up about his latest lawsuit against the Post Office and Fujitsu and how he’s still “begging for help” to clear his name

Lee Castleton has revealed how he’s still ‘begging for help’

Post Office Horizon scandal victim Lee Castleton has shared how he’s still fighting to clear his name despite ITV’s Mr Bates Vs the Post Office raising awareness for those affected. Former subpostmaster Lee was sued by the Post Office after the faulty Post Office Horizon accounting software showed shortfalls of £23,000.

The case bankrupted the 56-year-old – and now he has become the first victim to sue both the Post Office and Fujitsu with the Post Office’s civil judgement against him still standing. Speaking to Good Morning Britain today, Lee revealed that he had been “begging for help” for nearly 20 years.

Lee Castleton is now suing the Post Office after his civil judgement was upheld(Image: PA)

“I’ve tried desperately writing to the Post Office over the last few years to ask them to put this aside. I don’t want this to disappear without reason. It has to be done reasonably and in a way that I’m happy with and that they’re happy with – but they’re just not interested,” he said.

“I was begging was help,” he said. “It it was just about money, I could just apply to the schemes like some of the other guys, I can just get on with the process but the process is basically wrong.”

When asked what he is hoping to achieve with the lawsuit, he said: “I want to clear my name. I think I deserve it.”

Reading out the Post Office’s statement, presenter Susanna Reid said: “‘We are committed to doing all we can to help those affected get closure. We cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings, but once we receive the claim, we will engage full in the process.’”

Richard added: “Let’s move on to Fujitsu. They said this, ‘We’re regarding this matter with the utmost seriousness and based on the findings of the inquiry, we will be working with the UK government on the appropriate action including contribution to compensation.’”

Will Mellor portrayed Lee in the ITV drama Mr. Bates Vs The Post Office, the award-winning series which told the story of how Alan Bates led a group of subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted for fraud, theft and false accounting. Over 900 subpostmasters were wrongfully prosecuted after faulty Horizon software made it look as though money was missing from their branch accounts.

At the end of last year, the victims of the Post Office scandal were recognised in the King’s New Years Honours list, with Seema Misra, Chris Head and Jo Hamilton as well as Lee being made OBEs for services to justice. Meanwhile, ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells handed back her own CBE in January after over one million signed a petition demanding the gong be taken from her.

Delivering his message to those in charge of redress for his fellow subpostmasters would be: “I would say you will be judged on your actions, not your words, and we will never give in.” While former sub-postmistress Seem Misra, who was wrongly jailed while pregnant, said that she hoped her OBE would “give more weight to the fight” for justice, adding: “It’s one of the main reasons I accepted it – to remind people that the scandal hasn’t gone yet.”