"I've stood on the cliff tops and considered death. I've been there. But they're not worth it.”
In Lee Castleton’s first in-depth interview since announcing his new legal action, the former Bridlington sub-postmaster talks to Leonie Mellinger about becoming the first victim of the Post Office scandal to sue both the Post Office and Fujitsu.
Lee believes that the Post Office's lawyers are still making compensation as difficult as possible for those who had their reputations destroyed by false accusations, despite the massive outrage prompted by Mr Bates vs The Post Office and despite the then Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, introducing legislation to quash convictions, calling the scandal “one of the greatest miscarriages in our nation’s history.”
But Lee was the only sub-postmaster pursued by the Post Office though a civil action and that court’s judgment still stands.
He explains why he continues to fight to clear his name, what has and crucially hasn’t happened since being portrayed by Will Mellor in the ITV drama, and how both he and his family survived having their lives wrecked by the scandal. It is a powerful and often shocking conversation.
21 years after their nightmare began, is this the start of The Post Office Scandal: Part 2?
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The Courage to Speak is from Leonie Mellinger Ltd.
It is produced by Square Elephant Productions with Danny Garlick.
Theme music composed by Guy Pearson.