Conviction quashed for ex-Post Office worker from Pleasley caught up in Horizon scandal

John and Mandy Dickson ran Pleasley post office for nearly three years but were suspended in 2011 after money went missing.

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John ended up with a criminal record for false accounting and was ordered to carry out community service – but last week his conviction was quashed in the Court of Appeal.

The 64-year-old, of Chesterfield Road North, Pleasley, said: “It has caused so much pain over the years – it always will.

“We lost our business and I didn’t want to leave the house for a very long time.

“I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong – but I was so worried about what people thought of me.

“I was over the moon when my conviction was quashed.

“I always knew I was an innocent man – and now finally it has been well and truly confirmed.”

A total of 59 former sub-postmasters have had their convictions quashed – with more due in court over the coming months.

More people have been affected by the scandal than in any other miscarriage of justice in the UK.

Last week, the Government said subpostmasters who were wrongly convicted will get interim compensation of up to £100,000.

John said: "We’re hoping to get compensation soon.

“This will help us pay back a number of debts which have come about as a result of the wrongful conviction.

“So many lives have been ruined – this should never have happened and it must never happen again.”

Mandy, 58, added: "It has been a horrendous time but I’m pleased John’s conviction has finally been quashed.”

The couple also wanted to thank their legal teams and the support they have received from friends, family and the local community.

The Horizon system was first rolled out in 1999 to some post offices to be used for a variety of tasks including accounting and stocktaking.

But from an early stage, it appeared to have significant bugs which could cause the system to misreport, sometimes involving substantial sums of money.

Earlier this year, Lord Justice Holroyde said the Post Office ‘knew there were serious issues about the reliability of Horizon’ and had a ‘clear duty to investigate’ the system’s defects.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “Post Office is sincerely sorry for past failures and we welcome the court's decision to quash convictions without delay in the appeals we supported.

“We are making strenuous efforts to fairly address historical miscarriages of justice, including an extensive review of prosecutions since 1999 to identify and disclose all material which might affect the safety of convictions.

“We are also transforming our organisation to prevent such events ever happening again and to re-set our relationship with postmasters.”

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