WITNO1460100
WITNESS: ALLISON HENDERSON
STATEMENT NUMBER: WITNO146_01
EXHIBITS: 0
DATED: Jan 12, 2022
POST OFFICE HORIZON IT INQUIRY
FIRST WRITTEN STATEMENT OF MRS ALLISON HENDERSON
THIS STATEMENT IS PROVIDED IN RESPONSE TO THE RULE 9 REQUEST OF
THE PUBLIC INQUIRY DATED 29/10/2021 TO ADDRESS THE HUMAN IMPACT
OF THE FAILINGS OF THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM
I, MRS ALLISON HENDERSON, Date of Birth! GRO _I, of ADDRESS (5°!
will say as follows:-
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
1. I am currently 62 years of age.
2. The job with the Post Office was the first proper job that I have ever had.
3. I had been a homemaker helping to raise our two children prior to starting
employment with the Post Office.
4. Since finishing with the Post Office in 2010 I have attempted to start a new
business called “Clean & Care 4U” however the business did not work out and
I have not worked since this time.
Page 1 of 12
WITNO1460100
POST OFFICE HISTORY
5. I began work as a Sub-Post Master at the Worstead Post Office in 1997 and
occupied this position until 23°? February 2010 which is the time that I
resigned.
6. I had not done any form of work prior to 1997.
7. My husband was the main breadwinner and has worked fo!
a lot of years. He still works for them now and his continued employment has
been the reason that we have managed to stay afloat.
8. After raising my two children I was keen to find a business to occupy my time
as they were at the stage of moving out of home. My husband and I both liked
the idea of moving to the countryside and running a small community post
office.
9. Whilst visiting our static caravan in Cromer, we kept on the lookout for a
suitable Post Office and found one in Worstead which we were happy with.
10. Our decision to purchase a Post Office was with the intention of changing our
lifestyle, rather than it being solely a business decision.
11.As the Post Office was attached to a house, we purchased both for the sum of
£97,000 which included £10,000 for the good-will of the Post Office. We sold
our house in Hertfordshire and moved in.
12.My salary at the time of purchasing the Worstead Post Office would have
been in the region of £10,500 gross per year.
13.There was a shop that we also ran which was attached to the Post Office, but
we chose to close this in 2000 due to it failing to make a profit.
Page 2 of 12
WITNO1460100
CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS AND ANY PROCEEDINGS/CONVICTION
14.In the early 2000s the Horizon software was introduced to my Post Office. I
cannot recall the exact date due to the time that has now elapsed and also the
fact the Post Office took away all my documentation at the time that they
terminated my contract.
15. For several years I had difficulty in using the Horizon system and I often
struggled to balance the accounts that it showed. On several occasions I
would work into the night to try and balance them. I spoke to the Helpline and
to the Area Manager on numerous occasions to seek help and guidance on
what to do.
16. From 2006 onwards I noticed that the balances were regularly wrong and
would not balance. I often felt anxious and worried about this but the Helpline
offered me no real support and just gave me the impression that ‘no-one else
was having problems with the Horizon system’ which made me feel
embarrassed.
17.The first time that I ever saw an error notice on the Horizon system was in
2006. The system generated a shortfall of £1,500 and the Post Office required
me to pay the shortfall. However, a while later, the system generated a loss of
£2,000.
18. The shortfalls kept coming and I could not afford to cover the amounts.
19.On 10" February 2010 two auditors attended my Post Office. I was hopeful that
they would be able to sort out my balancing difficulties.
20.1 was shocked when they advised me that there was a shortfall of £18,000.
They then returned to me a couple of hours later to say that the amount had
been reduced to £11,957.78.
Page 3 of 12
WITNO1460100
21. They implied that I had taken the money which made me feel awful and very
upset.
22.1 was told that I could not re-open the Post Office and that I would be
suspended. They wanted to take away my keys and some of the paperwork
and that was the end of the matter. I had to argue with them to keep the door
key as one of our daughters used the bedroom above the post office area. They
eventually agreed and just took the safe keys.
23.1 then received a phone call from the Post Office the same day to inform me
that I was suspended without pay.
24.My Post Office was closed for two days and a relief Sub-Post Master was
appointed to look after things whilst the Post Office investigated things further.
I reluctantly agreed to allow the relief in to keep the post office operating for the
older folks of the village. Honestly, I thought that the issues would be sorted
quickly and I would be up and running again.
25.On 224 February 2010 I received a letter from the Post Office stating that they
were considering terminating my contract.
26.1 spoke to my local representative at the National Federation of Subpostmasters
and on his advice, decided that I had no other option other than to resign which
I duly did on 23" February 2010. This is a decision I have since regretted.
27.1 was summoned to a meeting with the Post Office. I was allowed to bring my
Federation Rep, but he was not permitted to speak during the “interview”. The
two men conducting the interview were total bullies. I was under the impression
the purpose of the meeting was to discover where I or the system had gone
wrong, but all they did was to accuse me of theft. They even marched me to the
car park to take a look at my cheap Proton car to see if it was worthy of being
Page 4 of 12
WITNO1460100
a “recovery asset’. I was subsequently charged with Theft and False
Accounting.
28.Criminal proceedings were brought against me, and my claim was transferred
from the Magistrates Court to Norwich Crown Court. I had never felt so scared
and alone in my life.
29. My solicitor and barrister provided me with legal advice and advised me to take
a plea bargain of false accounting with the Post Office dropping the theft
charge.
30.1 felt pressurised into accepting this. I could not face going to prison for
something that I had not done and was desperate to avoid spending any time
in prison whatsoever. I therefore, very reluctantly, accepted the plea bargain.
With the prospect of a custodial sentence hanging over me I felt I had no choice.
31. The Judge adjourned the hearing and ordered me to pay the alleged shortfall
before the case returned to court for sentencing.
32.I then retuned for sentencing on 15 December 2010 and was given 200 hours
of community service and ordered to pay court costs of £1,400. I also had to
pay my own lawyer's fees which totalled £7,000.
THE HUMAN IMPACT
33. The human impact which the failings of the Horizon IT System have had and
continue to have upon me and my family are set out in the remainder of this
statement. The section headings follow the particular questions posed by the
Inquiry.
Page 5 of 12
WITNO1460100
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING REQUIRED TO MAKE GOOD
APPARENT SHORTFALLS SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
34.As stated above, there were a number of occasions that I noticed shortfalls
starting in around 2006.
35. If the shortfall was only a fairly small amount of money, then I would just pay it
myself out of my own pocket.
36.However, as time went by, the amount became substantially bigger, and I
could not afford to cover it with my own savings.
37.At one point in 2006 I noticed a shortfall of £1,500. I spoke to the Post Office
about this and came to an agreement that they would deduct £100 per month
from my salary for a total of 15 months until the money was repaid in full.
38. However, a while later there was a £2,000 shortfall and I needed to take out a
personal loan to pay for this.
39.As the shortfalls kept coming, I knew that I had no money of my own left to
cover them. I felt trapped.
40.1 was concerned that, if the Post Office closed, then there would have been
repercussions for the whole village, especially the older residents who did not
have transport of their own and relied heavily on my Post Office.
41.After accepting the plea bargain at court, the Judge ordered me to pay the
shortfall that was owed in the time before I was sentenced. I could not afford
to do this and so my husband took out a personal loan to pay it in full.
Page 6 of 12
WITNO1460100
HOW WERE YOU AFFECTED WHEN ALLEGED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
SHORTFALLS OR DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
42.When the first allegations were made about the shortfalls and that I must have
taken the money I felt awful. But I knew that I had done nothing wrong and so
was sure that this would become obvious once they investigated things fully.
However, this was not the case.
43.When I was suspended, that was when it first really hit home. I was very upset
and shocked that the Post Office had accused me of stealing and I was 100%
certain that I had done nothing wrong.
44.1 immediately became very concerned about my reputation within the
community. I knew that everyone would find out the reason why the Post
Office had suddenly closed and I had been suspended. I worried about people
gossiping about me. I still had to drop my grandchildren off at school and did
not want people whispering behind my back as I knew that I had done nothing
wrong.
45.1 did not seek medical support as my GP lives in the same village as me. I just
dealt with it all by myself as best I could. With hindsight this was not the right
think to do, but this was how I wanted to handle it at the time.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR
SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
46. Due to the error made by the Horizon system, I was given a criminal
conviction and ordered to do 200 hours of community service.
47.As part of my community service, I carried out volunteer work every Wednesday
and Saturday in a local shop in a small market town.
Page 7 of 12
WITNO1460100
48.When I carried out my community service I hated the fact that the shop owner,
staff and local people all knew why I was there.
49.1 was desperate to let the world know that I had done nothing wrong, but I had
been put in an impossible position of having to admit something that I had not
done purely to avoid the risk of going to prison. I felt that the best course of
action was to shut myself away so that I did not have to discuss the matter
with anybody.
WHAT EFFECT DID IT HAVE TO BE ACCUSED OF COMMITTING CRIMINAL
OFFENCES AS A RESULT OF SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN
BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
50. Being accused of something that you have not done is always a horrible
feeling. But for it to result in a criminal conviction, the loss of my job and
livelihood is something that I think I will never be able to get over.
51.I have felt so ashamed and embarrassed about the past events when I have
always known that I have done nothing wrong.
52.The mental anguish has taken its toll on me, and still does.
53.1 did not attend my General Practitioner about how I was feeling at the time that
it was all being investigated as she lived in the village too. I just tried to keep it
to myself and not talk about it. I should have obtained some professional help
and I still need some professional assistance with the feelings which I have had
from when the problems with Horizon started and which still continue. The
whole affair has had a detrimental effect on my health and on my family. I have
felt very low in mood, I break down in tears and I still lack confidence.
Page 8 of 12
WITNO1460100
54.1 completed a course of CBT treatment which I found was helpful, but I feel
that this is something that will NEVER fully leave me.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING CONVICTED OF A CRIMINAL
OFFENCE AS A RESULT OF SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY
THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
55. Following my suspension and resignation from the Post Office and then
criminal conviction, we had no option but to close the Worstead Post Office.
As it was integrated int our home, it was totally impractical to have a relief
Sub-Post Master running the Post Office out of our home.
56.We decided to convert the Post Office into another room in our house.
57.1 loved the Post Office and the village. If this whole affair with the Post Office
had not happened, I would have kept the Post Office open for the community.
My grandchildren also went to school in the next village, and I would have
wanted to stay in the community whilst they were there.
58. Before this whole affair, I was regarded as a pillar of society and got heavily
involved in the community. I was involved in the local festivals and I organised
local parties, pensioner lunches and events in the local pub.
59.This all stopped from 2010. From then, my husband and I decided to keep
ourselves to ourselves. I was traumatised by all of the events and I did not want
to talk about it.
60. My husband had to give up his position as Chairman of the Parish Council. This
was to protect the integrity of the Council.
61.In 2016 we moved away from Worstead selling our house for £275,000 and
moved to Cromer, which is where we live today.
Page 9 of 12
WITNO1460100
62.1 did start a company called “Clean & Care 4U” in 2011 in an effort to rebuild
my working life.
63.Unfortunately, the business did not work out as one of my first customers
understandably wanted references and background checks. I was of course
ashamed and embarrassed that my conviction would come out, so I ceased the
business. The business was eventually dissolved. I have not worked since.
64.1 was made to feel that I was the only Sub-Post Master who was experiencing
problems with Horizon. I reluctantly accepted the charge of False Accounting.
As part of the plea bargain I was told not to mention to the Court anything about
the Horizon system. When I queried this with my Barrister and complained that
it was unfair, he flippantly said to me “that’s the way it works”. I have since learnt
that many other Sub-Post Masters had suffered the same.
65. The whole affair has been deeply traumatic to me. I was made to pay money to
the Post Office which I never took.
66. In addition to the suspension, resignation and criminal conviction, I have also
suffered a large amount of financial loss.
67.1 have had to repay total shortfalls of around £15,000, I have lost earnings, paid
interest on loans, paid legal costs, undergone private medical treatment etc etc.
WHAT EFFECT DID THESE ISSUES HAVE UPON YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH
YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND LOCAL COMMUNITY?
68.1 loved the Post Office and the village in general.
69. If this whole affair had not happened, I would loved to have kept the Post
Office open for the community to benefit from.
70.Prior to this affair, I was a pillar in the community.
Page 10 of 12
WITNO1460100
71.We moved out of the area in 2016 which has resulted in losing contact with a
lot of friends who we had grown close to from living in the same village for a
long period of time. However, this was a move that we felt we simply had to
make. Our friends and neighbours in Cromer knew nothing of the post office
saga until after my conviction was quashed at the Court of Appeal. It was a
saga in my life that I wanted to shut away from people.
72.I have buried feelings about the Post Office and my husband has helped me
to deal with all the paperwork. I have felt shame about the past events despite
my innocence.
PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECT WHICH THESE
ISSUES HAD UPON THE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?
73. There has been a clear impact on our family as a result of the whole Post
Office issue.
74.My grandchildren went to the school in the village and I would have wanted to
stay in the community whilst they were there.
75.My husband and I kept everything from our grandchildren until my conviction
was quashed. We were doing this to protect them and to avoid any stigma
from being passed onto them. Speaking about what happened to my still
upsets me and reduces me to tears, as it does to the grand children when we
speak of the events.
Page 11 of 12
WITNO1460100
CONCLUDING REMARKS
76.1 am thankful that I can now, at least try, to put the whole affair behind me, but
I know for a fact that this is something that I will have to live with for the rest of
my life. I feel that I will never completely recover from what happened to me.
77.1 still have so much anger and ill-feeling towards the Post Office and the way
that I have been treated, not least for the fact that this whole affair has caused
me so much misery for over 15 years of my life. I feel that I am making mental
progress. until the subject of the post office arises on the TV news, the
newspapers, or radio. I still get distressed by the events that happened to me.
Having to compose this impact statement has reduced me to tears.
Statement Of Truth
I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.
Position Or
Office Held:
Print Full Date of signature: Jan 12,2022
Name: MRS ALLISON HENDERSON
FILE REFERENCE}
Page 12 of 12
WITNO1460100