Former sub-postermaster's fury at wait to clear name over Post Office Horizon scandal

Rab Thomson, who was convicted of embezzlement in 2006, had his case referred back to court as potential miscarriage of justice.

A former sub-postmaster told of his anger at being kept waiting to clear his name of an embezzlement conviction during the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Rab Thomson, 64, had his case referred back to court last November as a potential miscarriage of justice.

Dozens of UK postmasters have had overturned convictions linked to the faulty Horizon IT system, which resulted in hundreds of operators being prosecuted.

Rab was one of six in Scotland identified for fresh court hearings with the appeal due to be heard next month.

He took over Cambus Post Office in Clackmannanshire from his mother in the early 2000s.

The move was around the time the Post Office rolling out its Horizon system and, a few years later, an alleged cash shortfall was found.

Rab said he pled guilty to embezzlement on the advice of his lawyer in 2006, hoping to avoid a prison sentence. He was ordered to carry out 180 hours of community service.

He told the BBC: “I feel angry and emotional and also it’s beginning to take its toll on my family because of the length of time it’s going on.

“I just wish it would go away really.

“I don’t know if that’s what the Post Office is hoping for but I’m not going to give in. I’m going to fight until the end.”

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Two people from the six Scottish court referrals have had their convictions quashed on appeal.

Four others from the group - including Rab - are still waiting.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service spokesperson said Rab’s appeal is due to be heard on January 12 at a three judge procedural hearing.

The Horizon scandal has been branded “the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history”.

More than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses across the UK were convicted based on information from the faulty accounting system Horizon between 2000 and 2014.

Ninety-three convictions have been overturned so far, and more than £23 million paid out in compensation.

But the Post Office has cut the size of the compensation pot set aside to pay branch managers wrongly convicted in half.

It has now set aside £244m, reduced from £487m last year, according to annual accounts.

Post office management said the new figure is “the latest and best estimate” of the amount of future claims.

A UK-wide inquiry into the Horizon scandal is underway, and it has uncovered documents suggesting at least one prosecutor in Scotland knew there were problems with the Post Office’s IT system as early as 2013.

Documents refer to a case in the Gorbals area of Glasgow where a procurator fiscal “cited issues with Horizon for not proceeding with the case”.

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Asked if there was an awareness of Horizon problems in 2013 why it had taken so long to get cases back to court, a Crown Office spokesperson said: “In order to respect the integrity of the ongoing Scottish cases and the inquiry process it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We’re doing all we can to address the past.

“Both Post Office and government are committed to providing full, fair and final compensation for people affected.

“We fully share the aims of the current public inquiry, set up to establish what went wrong in the past and the accountability for it.”

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