Lee Castleton

Lee Castleton (born Castleton phoned the Horizon helpline 91 times, only to be given bland assurances that things would right themselves or, eventually, be told that he was responsible for the shortfalls. By March 2004 the false shortfalls had reached about £23,000; Castleton was suspended and then had his contract terminated.

When Castleton refused to give the Post Office £25,000, the Post Office raised a civil claim against him at Scarborough County Court. Castleton's solicitor advised him to counter-claim for defamation and loss of income. When the case came to court on 9 February 2006, the Post Office's legal team did not turn up so the judge dismissed their claim and awarded Castleton his counter-claim. The Post Office then raised the case again, this time in the High Court in London. Castleton's legal insurance had run out and he had to represent himself; the Post Office spared no expense even though they knew they could not recover their legal costs if they won, as Castleton had no assets. The case was heard before Justice Richard Havery in December 2006 and January 2007. The judge found in favour of the Post Office and awarded £321,000 costs against Castleton. Unable to pay the costs, Castleton was forced to declare bankruptcy. During the inquiry former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells agreed that locking Castleton out of the mediation scheme that had been set up in 2013 was "unforgivable". In a media interview, Castleton said "I just wish she would have recognised that in 2013 - it would have made such a difference to a lot of people". Giving evidence to the inquiry, Fujitsu employee Peter Sewell, who had never had any contact with Castleton, apologised for having referred to him as a "nasty chap" in an internal email during the court case. Castleton told media: "Obviously it's difficult to hear but it's not something that I didn't expect... I think we're all realists and we knew there was some kind of conspiracy under there and it's been laid out for all to see."

Castleton was one of seven subpostmasters to be included in the Computer Weekly investigation in 2009, which broke the story to the public. He was also one of the 555 subpostmaster involved in the Bates & Others v Post Office Ltd court cast alongside Sir Alan Bates and Jo Hamilton. He was played by Will Mellor, whom he has since become friends with.

Castleton was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2025 New Years Honours for service to justice. In March 2025, Castleton initiated legal proceedings against the Post Office and Fujitsu.