Second Sight

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The Post Lee Castleton for losses

A postmaster, the Post Office Spent £320,000 says is suing him over £25,000, he was falsely accused of theft.

Lee Castleton, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire , was bankrupt, having lost the two-year legal battle with The Post .

A recent ruling, problems with The Post found-Office accounting software, could instead be the blame for the losses

The Post Office has apologised and accepted his "past shortcomings".

for two decades, at the Post Office , watched hundreds of his workers over accounting disagreements with its Horizon IT system, accusing people of theft, fraud or falsification of accounts. Many have been fired, bankrupt or even to jail.

Mr Castleton described how he and His Family were abused, including one incident where his daughter was spit upon, because "the locals thought I was a thief".

The former broker, who said bought directly by the sea Post Office in 2003, he began to notice that thousands of pounds of losses from its accounts within months after the acquisition of The Business .

Despite calling the Post Office help line almost Every Day for three months, he said: "We just couldn't understand where the losses were coming from. "

after an audit, Mr Castleton's branch was found in the amount of £25,000 to fail. He was suspended as a result.

The Post Spent the next two years, him for The Missing funds through the civil courts.

"The Post decided to make an example of me," said Mr. Castleton.

He was forced to defend himself in London's High Court, because he had no money to hire a lawyer. If he lost the case, he was bankrupt.

Lord Castleton is now one of More Than 550 former post master, who gets a share of a £58m payroll of The Post .

The agreement, it was decided in December of last year, when the Supreme court held that technical problems with the Post Office 's Horizon IT system could instead the blame for the losses - Something the Lord Castleton and The Other plaintiffs had always believed, was the case.

'there is No place for honesty,'

Internally, some Post Office employees were also concerned about what was happening.

Speaks out for the First Time , an Ex-manager told the BBC, referring to the file on 4 The Post had "zero interest", when he asked the question, why an increasing number of post masters were, the blame for losses in the amount of millions of pounds.

postmaster accused of fraud or theft are campaigns to have their convictions overturned

The former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said he expressed his concerns to the reading of the internal documents. "I didn't like what I'm looking for, but was told it would be better for my career "move on and let it be'," he said.

He said, to feel he and A Number of ladies and gentlemen ", began to be increasingly uncomfortable, but there is no place for honesty was not in the mood for an open dialogue".

"The people running our stores, were arrested, goes to jail, lose their savings, with massive psychological problems. It felt as if to do The Right thing, no longer mattered, it was all about saving The Image of The Post ".

He said: "A member of staff asked a manager why they thought it was such a high volume. The manager laughed and said: "because half of The Post offices of ex-police officers, the early retirement or the former pub landlord, so you are likely to be used to fiddling The Books ".

"I think it was meant as a joke, but it betrays a subtle disdain for the people at The Front . "

"protecting the brand,"

Ron Warmington, of the forensic accountants 'Second Sight ' was from The Post in 2012, to look at 150 cases.

In his first broadcast interview, he was told file on 4, because its findings to more criticism of The Post , it was always harder for him to have access to The Information he needed.

"It is the way companies behave when things go wrong," he said. "And it was in this area that we found it so strange, the way The Post responded, presumably to protect the brand. "

In the year 2015, the Post Office , The Investigation without the instruction ended, but not before Mr Warmington dozens of post master had spoken.

"I have said for decades, dealing with some of the worst criminals in The World ," he said. "What struck me was not that I like dealing with people.

"these were normal people who had simply found Something that they could not handle it. They sought help but did not receive it and were to change in a situation which was open to life for you. "

The Post an interview refused, but said it has "accepted his past shortcomings" and "sincerely apologised" for the person concerned.

the "file" 4 'Second-class citizens: The Post -Office-IT-scandal" is on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday, 11. February at 20:00 (GMT), and afterwards on the BBC Sound.

post office ltd, bridlington

Source of news: bbc.com