lee castleton, thank you ve much properly. lee castleton, thank you very much for— properly. taking _ properly. lee castleton, thank you very much for taking the _ properly. lee castleton, thank you very much for taking the time i properly. lee castleton, thank you very much for taking the time to i very much for taking the time to speak to us and perhaps that is one of the questions we will raise with people as we continue with the story throughout the length of a show. thank you so much for talking to us here on bbc news.— here on bbc news. you're so very welcome and — here on bbc news. you're so very welcome and thank _ here on bbc news. you're so very welcome and thank you _ here on bbc news. you're so very welcome and thank you for- here on bbc news. you're so very i welcome and thank you for listening. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the london to birmingham stretch of the now truncated hs2 railway could cost as much as £66 billion alone in current prices. that's almost twice as much as the original est

listening to the evidence was lee castleton, raise l evidence was lee castleton, raise sub—postmasterd by legal battle with the post office. his opinion... i legal battle with the post office. his opinion. . ._ legal battle with the post office. his opinion... i agree completely, it shameful _ his opinion... i agree completely, it shameful and _ his opinion... i agree completely, it shameful and appalling, - his opinion... i agree completely, it shameful and appalling, and - his opinion... i agree completely, it shameful and appalling, and i l it shameful and appalling, and i think_ it shameful and appalling, and i think they— it shameful and appalling, and i think they should _ it shameful and appalling, and i think they should hold - it shameful and appalling, and i think they should hold their- think they should hold their heads in shame — think they should hold their heads in shame. that's— think they should hold their heads in shame. that's not— think they should hold their heads in shame. that's not helping - think they should hold their heads in shame. that's not helping the i

and _ including joe hamilton and lee castleton and the _ including joe hamilton and lee castleton andnd how did the memberfor telford the memberfor and how did the memberfor telford the member for motherwell and indeed, of course the lord. and other members of the horizon compensation and the key figures in the media. they play a key role in seeking justice and compensation for the victims. i also think the shadow secretary of state for his continual constructive approach as well of course my ministerial predecessors including my honourable friend the memberfor including my honourable friend the member for sutton. watching including my honourable friend the memberfor sutton. watching last member for sutton. watching last week's memberfor sutton. watching last week's i view programme only reinforce our zealfor week's i view programme only reinforce our zeal for seeing justice done as quickly as possible. we are already a long way down that road so when william's inquiry is doing great work inspiring what went wrong and who is responsible and full and final composition has already been

yesterday, we heard about the case of lee castleton who was wrongly accused of stealing £25,000.e evidence against him and as a result, lee castleton was bankrupt or dead. i caught up with him yesterday and asked for his response that one fujitsu employee called him a nasty chap out to rubbish the fujitsu name. lee castleton said he was surprised by this because he had never met any fujitsu employees and he said of the fujitsu manager who sent that e—mail, i hope he has as many sleepless nights as i have. i think it's about paul patterson is going to be saying today is what did fujitsu know about the problems with horizon, when did they know it, what were they telling the post office about it and perhaps also about behaviour of fujitsu employees. thank you very much indeed. i'm joined now by tom witherow — news and special projects reporter at the times. thank you very much for being with us. it does seem one of the big focus is now is on fujitsu and how much they knew and when? absolutely, we not a much they knew and when? absolutely, we got a hint — much they knew and when? abs

lee castleton was wrongly accused of stealing £26,000 and he went to court and was bankrupted becauseo spend £300,000 in legal fees. what mr paterson said today was that the data presented by fujitsu in court was knocked a gold standard, not any standard, it's a very simple excel file which tells you not very much at all. so what he is essentially saying is that the data that was presented that led to lee castleton being bankrupted wasn't up to scratch, so it really wasn't up to scratch, so it really was a remarkable morning of evidence from paul patterson. the other thing that he talked about was an acknowledgement really that the knowledge of these errors, these bugs was known by fujitsu right from the very start, 1999, so for more than two decades. he also said that information about those bugs was shared with the post office, but what we are still not clear about is how high up the post office that information whence. just how understandable was this evidence about bugs and errors being put forward by fujitsu. i think we might find out more about that when paul patterson comes bac

that's why lee castleton wasn't believed.we heard yesterday that one of the fujitsu managers involved in that case had sent an e—mail calling lee castleton a nasty chap who was out to rubbish the fujitsu name. italked chap who was out to rubbish the fujitsu name. i talked to lee castleton at the end of the hearing yesterday and asked for his reaction to that e—mail. he said he was surprised because he had never had any conversation with fujitsu employees, he never had any correspondence with them, he didn't know the person who had sent this e—mail. i asked know the person who had sent this e—mail. iasked him know the person who had sent this e—mail. i asked him what his thoughts were when it comes to this fujitsu manager and he said i hope he has as many sleepless nights as i have. so he was upset by what he heard yesterday. so there could well be some questioning about the behaviour of fujitsu employees. just to give you a bit more of a background on paul patterson. he is the head of fujitsu europe, been in that role since 2

you were listening to that interview just now with lee castleton, he described the financial impact,y costs of over £300,000, he was ostracised by the community, the impact on his children and his wife, how do you even begin to calculate how do you even begin to calculate how to compensate for that? we have three schemes — how to compensate for that? we have three schemes in _ how to compensate for that? we have three schemes in place, _ how to compensate for that? we have three schemes in place, we _ how to compensate for that? we have three schemes in place, we are - three schemes in place, we are working through those. the point about this is that is what is so good about the drama, it puts people likely at the centre of what is a very complex story. in these's case, what it showed was that notjust the computer system was wrong but the post office weaponised the legal system against him. likewise they did it when the group action took place when they spent over £100 million of taxpayers money to defend the indefensible. again using the power that they had monetarily to crush these

he referred to one case in particular because it is important to humanise this will stop lee castletonstmaster was wrongly accused of stealing £26,000 and went to court and the reason why he was not believed when he said, i did not steal it, it was the software, was because a fujitsu employee gave evidence against him and provided data. what paul patterson said was that evidence that was given in the lee castleton trial was a very simple xl file which tell as not very much. so he says evidence provided by a fujitsu employee who was not up to scratch and lead to a man going bankrupt. so it really was an extraordinary series of exchanges between the council to the inquiry and paul patterson. —— excel file. the other area that has had a lot of focus was that admission that they had known about glitches in the system for decades. two decades. and had passed that information on to the post office. some very interesting both the admission and where fujitsu is trying to point the finger of blame. laser? where fujitsu is trying to point the finger of blame.— finger of blame. very interesting.

he said i am lee castleton. ifroze door. iwent thanks, mate. he said i am lee castleton. whole - it. how does it feel? it isjust. .. | for everybody, the whole group, it. how does it feel? it isjust. .. - for everybody, the whole group, the original— for everybody, the whole group, the original 555— for everybody, the whole group, the original 555 of us, it is notjust about— original 555 of us, it is notjust about me _ original 555 of us, it is notjust about me i— original 555 of us, it is notjust about me. i am very grateful and he did a— about me. i am very grateful and he did a fantasticjob. we really did have _ did a fantasticjob. we really did have that — did a fantasticjob. we really did have that moment. he is such a warm person _ have that moment. he is such a warm person you _ have that moment. he is such a warm person. you can feel that understanding. i felt, person. you can feel that understanding. ifelt, watching person. you can feel that understanding. i felt, watching the drama. _ understanding. i felt, watching the drama. you — understanding. i felt, watchi

lee castleton, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate your time.parents are harming other kids, how many parents do you think are responsible? the other kids, how many parents do you think are responsible?— think are responsible? the challenge we have seen — think are responsible? the challenge we have seen around _ think are responsible? the challenge we have seen around persistent - we have seen around persistent absenteeism means one in five children are regularly out of school, the figure is set to rise to one in four, staggering number. damage in their life chances and damaging the life chances of all of the children within the school community. i am saying to parents, i know it can be tough, really important children are in school every day matters. but a labour government will be on your site putting in place support you need to make it easier to get children to school. improved mental health support for example. a really big pressure at them and making it hard for some children to be in school. we will guarantee mental health counsellors in

lee castleton's story was one of those featured in the drama series.lsely accused of stealing £25,000. so, what does he make of paula vennells' decision? it kind of was a kick in the teeth back then. now it's full circle, i suppose, and we've got to a point where now now it's acceptable that the moral decision to hand it back is the right decision. i personally have spent many, many years not being listened to and i think people really are listening. there's been a real step change. in leicestershire, there is a lot of sympathy for what in leicestershire, there's a lot of sympathy for what lee and others have experienced. they should get as much back possible, and not always money. it doesn't heal wounds what they've gone through. it's shocking, you know, to be made to feel like that, made to feel like they've done something wrong and they'd stolen the money and whatever, i think it's terrible how they've been treated. as chief executive of the post office from 2012 to 2019, paula vennells earned more than £4 million during a period and serious issues

listening to the evidence was lee castleton, a sub—postmaster who was bankrupted by a legal battle witht office. his opinion? i agree completely, - it is shameful and appalling, and i think they should - hold their heads in shame. that is not helping the victims, there's 555 people _ that are still waiting for this to move on, and nobody seems to be looking at that at the moment. - mr patterson is still appearing before the inquiry, but his evidence so far has already added to the long list of questions facing the post office and its former bosses. you're watching bbc news, i'm lauren taylor. well, let's peel away now to focus on a breaking story, in space. within the next half hour, japan hopes to become just the fifth country in the world to achieve a moon landing. its slim mission, which stands for smart lander for investigating moon, will aim for a gentle slope, close to a crater called shioli. the bid follows the failure this month of a private american company to reach the lunar surface. it's proven very hard to land on the moon safely. only about a half of all attempts have succe

lee castleton was left bankrupt after his battle with the post office and his story features prominentlypelled this into the spotlight. lee welcomes the prime minister�*s annoucement. hejoined me a little earlier and he told me his reaction when the problem began. the potential interim payments would be appreciated. it�*s a little bit of a caveat there, i would just like to get to the end of this, really. sticking plasters, whilst appreciated, i just feel as though we�*re not moving forward. i�*d like to get everything done, really. but it seems that heels are still being very sticky and being dragged behind and it would be nice if we could get some short, sharp steps forward. i�*m not surprised you came to that conclusion because your case has spanned over 20 years, i was listening to you on the radio this morning and it is staggering, awful story. for viewers who don�*t know your particular story, let�*s just go through it. because when it first happened, the initial deficit, you didn�*t think, you were not suspicious of the computer were you initially? no, not at all. i thought that p

lee castleton was bankrupted by the post office.is case there was nothing wrong with horizon at his branch. so what did he think today? i'm sure, you know, he means it, i'm not saying that he doesn't, but it's about doing things, it's about actions. some of the victims want to meet the fujitsu boss to discuss assistance and support. he said he would be happy to, apologising again for his company's part in their suffering. emma simpson, bbc news. the head of the uk's health security agency is warning that measles could spread rapidly in parts of the uk unless more children are vaccinated. it says vaccination rates are well below what's recommended. measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications including meningitis, blindness, and seizures. more than 200 cases of the disease have been confirmed in the west midlands recently. here's our health editor, hugh pym. a vaccination bus out on the road today, promoting the benefits and offering a range of vaccines in a london borough. the capital has the lowest rate of tak

lee castleton�*s story was one of those featured in the drama series.krupt after being falsely accused of stealing £25,000. so what does he make of paula vennells�* decision? it kind of was a kick in the teeth back then. now it's full circle, i suppose, and we've got to a point where now it's acceptable that the moral decision to hand it back is the right decision. i personally have spent many, many years not being listened to and i'm thankful that people are listening now, and i think people really are listening. there's been a real step change. in leicestershire, there is a lot of sympathy for what lee and others have experienced. they should get as much back, possible, and not always money, it doesn't heal wounds what they've gone through. it is shocking, you know, to be made to feel like that. made to feel like they've done something wrong and they had stolen the money and whatever, i think it's terrible how they've been treated. as chief executive of the post office from 2012 to 2019, paula vennells earned more than £4 million during a period and s

lee castleton was bankrupted by the post office. in his case there was nothing wrong with horizon at his branch. so what did he think today? i'm sure, you know, he means it, i'm not saying that he doesn't, but it's about doing things, it's about actions. some of the victims want to meet the fujitsu boss to discuss assistance and support. he said he would be happy to, apologising again for his company's part in their suffering. emma simpson, bbc news. more details are emerging about who knew there were issues with the post office computer system, and when. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity is here with more. thanks, reeta. way back in 1999, the post office begins the roll—out of horizon. within weeks, some sub—postmasters report that it's generating errors. that goes to the top. we've seen the minutes of a post office board meeting in september �*99 where directors heard of "serious doubts over the reliability of the software." by april 2000, even the prime minister knows there's something seriously wrong. when we came to offic

lee castleton was bankrupted by the post office. case there was nothing wrong with horizon at his branch. so what did he think today? i�*m sure, you know, he means it, i�*m not saying that he doesn�*t, but it�*s about doing things, it�*s about actions. some of the victims want to meet the fujitsu boss to discuss assistance and support. he said he would be happy to, apologising again for his company�*s part in their suffering. emma simpson, bbc news. we can now cross live to varchas patel, his father vipin patel who was prosecuted by the post office in 2011 after they audited him and alleged 3a,000 pounds was missing in december 2010 — after he had already made up a £44,000 shortfall. those figures are extraordinary. it must be difficult for you hearing what was said today by the man from the fujitsu are you able to describe to us what you were being told via the post office and fujitsu at the time? the post office and fu'itsu at the time? , ., , ., .,, time? yes to my father. he was alwa s time? yes to my father. he was always told

live now to lee castleton a former sub—postmaster, whose story is depicted in the latest itv drama.k you for joining us. are you ok to explain to us exactly what happened to you? in 2003, the 18th ofjuly, and my wife bought a post office in bridlington in east yorkshire. we run it very happily until about christmas, very soon into our tenure, we balance perfectly right up until the first christmas and then we suddenly had an issue on that issue went on for 12 weeks and during that 12 weeks we had sometimes each week we would have too much money, sometimes we would have too little money and sometimes on the odd occasion we actually balanced, we had never had actually balanced, we had never had a problem prior to that. i run the post office 91 times over the 12 week period begging for help and nobody seemed adult remotely interested and no matter what i said, it didn't seem to be able to get anything to change. post office themselves just said to make up the losses so whenever we had losses, they added up and added up until after 12 weeks it was £25,000 supposedly missing. on the 23rd

lee castleton�*s story was one of those featured in the drama series.g falsely accused of stealing £25,000. so what does he make of paula vennells' decision? it kind of was a kick in the teeth back then. now it's full circle, i suppose, and we've got to a point where now it's acceptable that the moral decision to hand it back is the right decision. the renewed publicity has made dealing with hundreds of wrongful convictions a priority for mps. we can do something good, mr speaker, together, if the justice secretary will bring a simple bill to quash all 800 immediately. the suggestions he made is receiving active consideration. i expect to be able to make further announcements shortly. in normal circumstances, it would be almost unthinkable for parliament to get involved in the quashing of criminal convictions. it would be seen as an attack on the independence of the courts. but ministers accept this is an unprecedented situation and that's why they're considering such a radical move. cheering in 2021, there were joyful scenes when the court of appeal cl

lee castleton�*s story was told in the itv drama, mr bates vs the post office, and was portrayed by thed of stealing £25,000. the inquiry was shown an e—mail on thursday, written by a fujitsu manager in 2006, where he called sub—postmaster lee castleton a nasty chap. how did you form that opinion? i don't know. i don't know why i wrote it. i apologise. what was being said within fujitsu that allowed you to form the opinion that he was a nasty man? nothing, i don't know. cheering. victory for some postmasters came in 2021 when their convictions were overturned but could justice have come so much sooner? perhaps the most important question of all is that asked by former sub—postmistress betty brown. how could you? why? just why, why, why? fujitsu admits it has a moral obligation to pay compensation but they won't say how much until after the inquiry has concluded at the end of this year. zoe conway, bbc news. health officials have warned that measles is likely to spread rapidly in more areas of the uk — unless there is urgent action to increase uptake of the mmr vaccine. more than 200 cas

lee castleton was bankrupted by the post office.is case there was nothing wrong with horizon at his branch. so what did he think today? i'm sure, you know, he means it, i'm not saying that he doesn't, but it's about doing things, it's about actions. some of the victims want to meet the fujitsu boss to discuss assistance and support. he said he would be happy to, apologising again for his companies apologising again for his company's part in their suffering. emma simpson, bbc news. a newborn baby has been found in a carrier bag by a dog walker in a park in east london. the baby girl is now being looked after in hospital where staff have named her elsa. she is said to be doing fine. police are now trying to trace her mother, as sean dilley reports. temperatures were below zero when newborn baby elsa was found by a dog walker in a bag here in east london. police believe she was less than an hour old. ~ ., , ., police believe she was less than an hour old. ~ .,, ., , ,., hour old. thinking fast, that person ke -t the hour old. thinking

listening to the evidence was lee castleton, a sub—postmaster who was bankrupted by a legal battle withheir heads in shame. that is not helping the victims, there is 555 people still waiting for this to move on, and nobody seems to be looking at that at the moment. mr patterson is still appearing before the inquiry, but his evidence so far has already added to the long list of questions facing the post office and its former bosses. theo leggett, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the met office has named the next storm to hit the uk which is set to bring gusts of up to 80mph over the weekend. storm isha will hit the uk on sunday, with amber weather warnings issued for wind in northern and western england, northern ireland and parts of scotland. british retailers suffered the biggest drop in sales in almost three years in december raising the risk that the economy entered a recession in the fourth quarter. official figures reveal a sharp fall in demand for goods, but also food sales, in the run up to christmas by

lee castleton's story was one of those featured in the drama series. the teeth back then. now it's full circle, i suppose, and we've got to a point where now it's acceptable that the moral decision to hand it back is the right decision. the renewed publicity has made dealing with hundreds of wrongful convictions a priority for mp5. we can do something good, mr speaker, together, if the justice secretary will bring a simple bill to quash all 800 immediately. the suggestions he made is receiving active consideration. i expect to be able to make further announcements shortly. in normal circumstances, it would be almost unthinkable for parliament to get involved in the quashing of criminal convictions. it would be seen as an attack on the independence of the courts. but ministers accept this is an unprecedented situation and that's why they're considering such a radical move. cheering. in 2021, there were joyful scenes when the court of appeal cleared 39 former postmasters and mistresses who had been wrongly convicted. hundreds more hope they'll be able to

lee castleton�*s years of suffering were laid bare in the recent itv drama.d through the courts. £26,000 has gone missing. you what? 26 grand. he was left bankrupt, shunned by his community and even considered ending his life. he said the public support this week has left him stunned. it�*s very lonely being the only one, as the post office would constantly tell each of the victims. so now we�*re together in this and we just need to keep walking forward, no matter what the punches are, no matter how hard the war gets. lee was among around 700 post office managers convicted over a 16—year period from 1999. in fact, faulty software in the horizon it system was to blame. today, the prime minister said the ministry ofjustice is looking at the best way to speed up the process for overturning convictions and handing out compensation. it's right that we find every which way we can do to try and make this right for the people who were so — as i said — wrongfully treated at the time. the compensation is a part of that. but as you say, there are legal things that may b

. £300,000 going after lee castleton , a going after lee castleton, a subpostmaster in bridlington ,ington, over a discrepancy of 35 grand. he was bankrupted by the case. his life destroyed whenever a victim did seek to employ an independent, it expert. the post office would immediately back down and settle out of court . down and settle out of court. but to others they showed no mercy. the post office also sent people to prison to make an example of them , like former example of them, like former subpostmaster seamer mr after she was convicted and former post office head of criminal law jarnail singh wrote a victorious email to colleagues claiming that this result would stop others. and i quote joe jumping on the horizon, bashing bandwagon. some victims used personal credit cards and life savings to fix the accounting black hole . such was their black hole. such was their terror of retribution from the post office. it's a source of national shame that unfortunately, we, the taxpayer, own the post office and more egregiously , that will be the egregiously, that will be the ones footi

due to the tenacity and the commitment and the inspiration of people like alan bates and others, lee castletonsation bill cost, _ it right. how much could the total compensation bill cost, do - it right. how much could the total compensation bill cost, do you i compensation bill cost, do you think? ., compensation bill cost, do you think? . , . , think? the maximum budget currently secified is think? the maximum budget currently specified is it— think? the maximum budget currently specified is £1 billion. _ think? the maximum budget currently specified is £1 billion. that _ think? the maximum budget currently specified is £1 billion. that is - think? the maximum budget currently specified is £1 billion. that is not - specified is £1 billion. that is not a forecast, it is a budget, so it is a forecast, it is a budget, so it is a very significant figures. but! a forecast, it is a budget, so it is a very significant figures. and will the taxpayer _ a very significant figures. and will the taxpayer be — a very significant figures. and will the taxpayer be paying _ a very significant figures. and w

yeah, it's so shocking because then what happened to lee castleton's family?thinking about. >> and today they the words coming out or the post office behaved like mafia gangsters. well i mean, that's absolutely spot on. >> they i believe we've knew that the horizon system was faulty when they first took it on. why else would the department of work and pensions have rejected it? they took it on knowing it was faulty. but prosecutor ing the subpostmasters as though it was not faulty, and blaming the subpostmasters for everything that had happened and telling the subpostmasters that they were the only people that it had happened to complete. lie and they were doing that on a daily bafis. they were doing that on a daily basis. incredible they were doing that on a daily basis . incredible stuff. basis. incredible stuff. >> lord james yesterday rishi sunak called this one of the biggest political scandals in british history. >> how do you feel personally, having been part of the resolution on. >> i am delighted that at >> well, i am delighted that at last, at long la

we heard a post office manager describing one of the main campaigners, lee castleton, as a nasty chapand why things didn't emerge sooner? well, i think we are seeing quite a bit of that emerge. this inquiry is doing a good job of unearthing how this happened, both within fujitsu and the post office. the big question is how far up the chain the collusion went. that is what we are yet to find out. later on in the year, more seniorfigures yet to find out. later on in the year, more senior figures from the post office should be appearing and thatis post office should be appearing and that is a question that needs to be examined in some detail, that's what people want to find out about. what the investigations on the ground, the investigations on the ground, the prosecutors, what instructions with a getting from above. band the prosecutors, what instructions with a getting from above. and that will be crucial _ with a getting from above. and that will be crucial to _ with a getting from above. and that will be crucial to the _ with a getting from above. and that will be crucial to the vict

in 2006, sub—postmaster lee castleton fought a civil case against the post office after it falsely accusedhe country are all behind these people. in 2019, the post office admitted there had been an it fault and agreed to settle with hundreds of claimants. in september last year, the government said every sub—postmaster wrongly convicted would be offered £600,000 in compensation. but so far, only 93 convictions have been overturned and only 30 people have agreed full and final financial settlements. paula vennells ran the post office between 2012 and 2019. she said yesterday that following mounting pressure, she would be handing back her cbe with immediate effect. tim muffett with that report. it has been going on for a long time. we're just ten days into 2024 with a definite change in the air, that maybe now finally people are taking notice. we want to hear your stories. we want to try to understand the impact that the horizon computer scandal has had on your lives, and is still having. we'll talk to you all in detail but first we'll start with tom, tell us your story. hello. i've got to s