Our first speaker of 2024 was Tom Hedges, the ex sub postmaster for Hogsthorpe Post Office and a victim of the Horizon software scandal that saw dozens of innocent people wrongly convicted of fraud.
In 2010 Tom was abruptly suspended from his job as sub postmaster with his keys taken and the alarm codes changed. He was then interrogated as to the whereabouts of over £23.5k that the computer system reported to be missing, and subsequently fired.
To lose your job and be accused of wrongdoing would be a terrible experience on its own, but the public nature of the job meant the whole community were talking about it, with many turning against Tom and his family.
Eventually Tom appeared at Lincoln Crown Court where he was given a 7 month suspended sentence, 120 hour community service and ordered to pay £1k towards the Post Offices costs.
After a dark period, Tom began to join with others and in 2018 they launched and won a civil case against the Post Office, successfully proving the Horizon system was at fault. This evidence was then used to have his conviction quashed in 2021 by the Court of Appeal in London, opening the way for claiming compensation.
It seems this injustice is finally being addressed thanks to the ongoing government enquiry (which Tom has faith in) and lots of media coverage. In fact, we were fortunate Tom was able to make time to visit us between his interviews for national newspapers and radio stations, and TV appearances.
The Club wishes Tom, and all those affected, a swift resolution to this terrible injustice.