Post Office scandal victims' fight for justice recognised in New Years Honours list
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Victims of the Post Office scandal have vowed to "never give in" in their fight for justice after being recognised in the King's New Years Honours list. Lee Castleton, Seema Misra, Chris Head and Jo Hamilton were made OBEs for services to justice - after Sir Alan Bates was knighted earlier this year. Over 900 subpostmasters were wrongfully prosecuted after faulty Horizon software made it look as though money was missing from their branch accounts.
Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells handed back her own CBE in January after over 1million signed a petition demanding she be stripped of the gong. Mr Castleton, who was played by actor Will Mellor in the ITV hit-drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office earlier this year, said on Monday he was "very honoured and proud". He said: "Sometimes you have to step forward and shout as loud as you can because some of our group aren't able to do that.".
Mr Castleton was made bankrupt within a year of buying his branch in East Yorkshire after his system showed a £25,000 shortfall. He said 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.".
Former sub-postmistress Seema Misra who was wrongly jailed while pregnant also said she hoped the OBE would "give more weight to the fight" for justice and redress. She added: "It's one of the main reasons I accepted it - to remind people that the scandal hasn't gone yet.".
