Boost for Shropshire postmistress in fight for justice
A postmistress who was jailed over financial discrepancies which she says were caused by the Post Office's controversial national computer system has received a boost in a bid to clear her name.
Rubbina Shaheen said an intervention by independent forensic accountants Second Sight, which has written to the Government claiming its report into the computer system has been misrepresented, was a significant step in her fight for justice.
Mrs Shaheen, who kept Greenfields Post Office in Shrewsbury, was jailed for 12 months in 2010 for false accounting after initially being accused of stealing £43,000.
The Post Office claimed a report by independent forensic accountants Second Sight had ruled there were no "systemic problems" with its Horizon computer network.
But Second Sight has now written to the Government claiming its report has been misrepresented, and that failings with the computer system may have contributed to the financial discrepancies.
"I am pleased they (Second Sight) have written to the Government, it's courageous of them to do that," said Mrs Shaheen.
Her husband Mohamed, who ran the convenience store which was attached to the post office, added: "The Post Office is trying to do its best to cover up the results of the investigation which Second Sight has done."
The couple said they lost their business and their home as a result of the case, and were forced to live in their van and wash at their local Tesco store.
Mrs Shaheen was jailed after pleading guilty to false accounting in 2010. She had originally been charged with the theft of £43,000, but the Post Office agreed to drop that if she admitted the less serious offence. She said her lawyer advised her she would get a non-custodial sentence if she pleaded guilty.
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has branded the matter a "national scandal", and called for a judicial review.
He said he had an email in his possession that proved the Post Office was already looking at replacing the Horizon system.
"Although the Post Office will maintain there is nothing wrong with its system, that is disputed by Second Sight themselves – in letters they have sent to ministers," said Mr Bridgen.
"The human cost is loss of reputation for sub-postmasters, loss of their business, relationships have failed. People have lost their livelihoods and, in the worst cases, they have lost their liberty."
