WITNO1720100
WITNESS: LYNETTE HUTCHINGS
STATEMENT NUMBER: WITNO172_01
EXHIBITS: 0
DATED: Jan 11, 2022
POST OFFICE HORIZON IT INQUIRY
FIRST WRITTEN STATEMENT OF LYNETTE HUTCHINGS
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 LYNETTE HUTCHINGS, Date of Birth: I
will say as follows:-
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
1. I was born in Portsmouth and brought up in Havant. I married my husband
at the age of 21 when I finished my college courses and we have
been together since.
2. We had two children together, a son born in
>} and our daughter in
Sadly, our son passed away however I am in contact with my daughter and
her two children.
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POST OFFICE HISTORY
3.
Crookham Village Post Office was my first post office which I bought in 2002
after previously working as a primary school teacher.
As the shortfall problems developed with the Horizon software and following
my initial suspension in 2004, in about July/August of 2005, we decided to put
the Post Office up for sale. We had taken out a bank loan to pay back the
money to the Post Office and any further plans to expand the business were
no longer financially realistic. We felt forced into selling the business. It took
about a year to sell it. I gave my resignation to the Post Office in September
2005 and then left in December 2005.
Following the sale of the Crookham Village Post Office, we moved to Havant
in Hampshire and looked for work. I commenced my role as Sub-Postmistress
of the Rowlands Castle branch of the Post Office on 29 August 2006.
I started as the Sub-Postmistress of the Rowlands Castle Post Office on 29
August 2006.
Following the introduction of the Horizon (Online) system into our branch in
2010, It took us a while to get up and running, but after a week we had the
hang of things. As at Crookham Village we were having problems prior to the
introduction of Horizon Online. For the first few weeks, things seemed to be
fine. The new Horizon Online was faster but again was throwing up
discrepancies. Then we started to have a few discrepancies and we were
worried that we would have problems again as we did at Crookham Village
Post Office.
Following an audit in March 2011 we were eventually told there was a large
shortfall and I was suspended despite having reported the problems to the
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Helpline that I was having with the Horizon system. I received a letter from the
Post Office dated 14 April 2011 where they terminated my Contract.
9. Apart from our initial training for both Post Offices we received occasional
ongoing training where new initiatives were introduced, however, none of
these related to the functioning of Horizon as such. The introduction of
Horizon Online was carried out at home using a pack and CD-Rom. What this
did not teach however, was how to avoid discrepancies.
10. We started becoming aware that other sub-postmasters were having
problems with Horizon after being removed from the Rowlands Castle branch.
The JFSA were a body I contacted and I also emailed someone called Joe
from South Warnborough Post Office in Hampshire. I was also in contact with
someone from the North of England who had problems. The actual number of
people involved were not known to us until we were working with Freeths
Forensic Accountants although regular contacts with JFSA indicated a large
number of people were involved. This would have been between sometime
after 2011.
CRIMNINAL PROCEEDINGS AND CONVICTION
11.About a year after my contract was terminated, I received a Summons to
attend Portsmouth Magistrates Court on 19 April 2012. I was charged with
False Accounting. The Post Office had wanted to charge me with Fraud, but
this was subsequently changed to False Accounting. I pleaded Not Guilty to
the charges.
12.My case was sent to the Crown Court. Before my hearing at Portsmouth
Crown Court, upon a plea bargain from the Post Office’s lawyers and upon
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advice from my Barrister, I pleaded Guilty to one Count of False Accounting,
despite my innocence. I pleaded Guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court on 30 July
2012.
13.At Portsmouth Crown Court on 24 August 2012, I was sentenced to a
Community Order for 12 months with 120 hours of unpaid work.
14.Following an appeal hearing, I had my conviction quashed at the Royal Courts
of Justice on 23 April 2021.
THE HUMAN IMPACT
15.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.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING REQUIRED TO MAKE GOOD
APPARENT SHORTFALLS SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
16.On 15 April 2004, whilst at my first Post Office, a Post Office Auditor located
total shortfalls in the sum of £6,993.93. I was immediately suspended and
told that I would have to pay back the shortfalls in full. I was threatened with
legal action if I did not pay.
17.1 do not recall if the auditor at Crookham Village gave us his name but if he
did, I cannot recall this now. The line manager or area manager however was
called Colin. I do not recall his surname.
18.Subsequent meetings showed that the Post Office were not prepared to listen
and were determined to take one line of action. I was left with no option —
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repay the money or I could not re-open my shop. Therefore reluctantly my
husband and I paid this sum to the Post Office through a bank loan.
19.In about July/August of 2005, we decided to put the Post Office up for sale.
We had taken out a bank loan to pay back the money to the Post Office and
any further plans to expand the business were no longer financially realistic.
We felt forced into selling the business. It took about a year to sell it. We were
also using credit cards to support ourselves financially at this time.
20.As detailed above, I commenced my role as Sub-Postmistress of the
Rowlands Castle branch of the Post Office on 29 August 2006. The Post
Office did confirm that we would have to make good any losses as part of our
agreement to run a Post Office branch again.
21.Following the introduction of the Horizon Online system in 2010, the shortfalls
started developing and I was finding that I had to “make good” any shortfalls
by paying them from our own money. I think it is important to make clear
however that prior to the introduction of the Horizon Online system, we had
also encountered problems with the previous Horizon version.
22.On 30 March 2011, our Trainer came back to Audit our branch. He informed
us that there was a shortfall of £9,743.76. We told the Trainer about the
problems which we were having and that we had been paying the shortfalls
from our own money. However, for this particular shortfall, we were waiting for
the Horizon system to rectify itself. The Trainer returned later to advise us
that the shortfall was £10,814.83. I was suspended. We did not have the
money to pay this alleged shortfall.
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23.The Trainer at this time was called Adam who carried out the audit. I do not
recall his surname. I believe we only met our line or area manager at
Rowlands Castle branch once, however I do not recall her name.
WHAT WERE THE COSTS OF MAKING GOOD ALLEGED SHORTFALLS
SHOWN BY HORIZON?
24. As explained above, whilst at my first Post Office, a Post Office Auditor
located total shortfalls in the sum of £6,993.93. My husband and I had to take
out a bank loan to repay this sum.
25. From 2010 onwards at my subsequent Post Office branch, the shortfalls
started developing and I was “making good” alleged shortfalls as and when
they arose from our own money. Following the audit in March 2011, we did
not have the money to repay that particular alleged shortfall found of
£10,814.83.
HOW WERE YOU AFFECTED WHEN ALLEGED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
SHORTFALLS OR DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
26.As the problems grew with the so-called balance discrepancies, my mental
health deteriorated.
27.I had suffered with depression before this and was on a low dosage of anti-
depressant medication however I found my symptoms were getting worse.
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WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR
SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
28.As detailed above, I was charged with False Accounting. The Post Office had
wanted to charge me with Fraud, but this was subsequently changed to False
Accounting. I pleaded Not Guilty to the charges.
29.My case was sent to the Crown Court. Before my hearing at Portsmouth
Crown Court, upon a plea bargain from the Post Office’s lawyers and upon
advice from my Barrister, I pleaded Guilty to one Count of False Accounting,
despite my innocence. I pleaded Guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court on 30 July
2012.
30.My court appearances were worrying and stressful. Neither me nor my
husband knew what the outcome might be. We were aware by this point of
other cases involving Sub-Postmasters and Mistresses and their outcomes.
Our Barrister carried out her role as required, though I did feel forced to
accept a Guilty plea.
WHAT WERE YOUR FINANCIAL LOSSES CAUSED BY ACTION TAKEN
AGAINST YOU IN RELIANCE UPON HORIZON DATA?
31.When we sold the shop, it was a relief but also a shame. Our financial
situation would not have made it viable to continue. I think that we sold the
leasehold on the shop for between £50,000 - £60,000 which was about the
same price as we had originally paid for it.
32.Due to our financial situation, we were forced to sell our bungalow as we
could not get a mortgage. We were able to secure shared housing through a
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housing association. For this, we paid 30% of the cost of the property with the
remainder being paid as rent.
WHAT EFFECT DID IT HAVE TO BE ACCUSED OF COMMITTING CRIMNINAL
OFFENCES AS A RESULT OF SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN
BY THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
33.1 felt humiliated and unable to speak about the situation.
34. Throughout the criminal investigation, I started suffering with depressive
episodes. When I have a depressive episode it causes me to become
withdrawn and this happened during the criminal investigation. I struggled to
sleep, and I didn’t feel I could speak with anyone.
35.1 met my husband after college, and we had no major issues in our
relationship. However, following the conviction, I could not speak to him
about what had happened. I sank into myself and hid away from everyone.
36.At one point I was in a such a dark place I even had thoughts about taking my
own life. I consulted my GP and the anti-depression medication I was already
on had to be increased.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING CONVICTED OF A CRIMINAL
OFFENCE AS A RESULT OF SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY
THE HORIZON IT SYSTEM?
37.1 cannot even being to explain how it feels to have to plead guilty to an offence
you did not commit. I had no faith in the system but I knew that the outcome
could be more serious it the case had gone to a full trial.
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38.For my community service, I carried out 120 hours of unpaid work in a Charity
Shop in Havant. At my first appointment with the Probation Officer, I went out
with others to carry out litter picking. It was a humiliating and demeaning task.
39. Initially after my conviction, my husband and I were unemployed and
dependent on welfare benefits. With little prospect of obtaining employment
due to our ages and that I had a criminal conviction, our financial situation at
that stage was unstable and our future looked bleak and full of debt.
40.The criminal conviction prevented me from gaining work — prior to joining the
post office I had been a primary school teacher. I could not return to that role
with a conviction. I am not the sort of person who can be idle and
unemployed which made me feel extremely frustrated. I had worked as a
primary school teacher for pretty much 22 years.
41.I took extreme steps to try and block out what had happened such as throwing
away clothes that I had worn during the court case.
42.The entire criminal process left me scarred and frightened. Even though the
conviction has how been overturned, I am still frightened that someone will
come back tell me this was all a mistake, and the conviction still stands.
43.1 am no longer in good health. I was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2014.
After extensive surgery, at least 50% of my brain tumour remains and cannot
be operated on without incurring a fatal outcome. I have ongoing problems
which are getting worse.
44.How the Post Office has treated me from the Audit to the present day has left
me with serious financial problems.
45.After we were removed from the Rowlands Castle Post Office, we were on
Jobseekers Allowance. I was unable to secure any form of employment due to
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my criminal conviction. The had a significant impact on our day to day
lifestyle.
46.My salary at both post offices was pretty much the same and I was earning in
the region of £24,000 a year at the time when I was suspended. We also lost
income from the shop when we were forced to close it.
WHAT EFFECT DID THESE ISSUES HAVE UPON YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH
YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND LOCAL COMMUNITY?
47.\t is not just me that has gone through this ordeal but my whole family. As
detailed above, as a result of the financial impact we were forced to sell our
bungalow. This makes me incredibly sad that I don’t have a house to leave my
daughter and grandchildren.
48.In 2018 we also lost our son. He was living in Cambodia and had a motorbike
accident which meant he had a long stay in hospital and several operations to
repair the damage to his arm. This caused him to have to pay hospital bills of
about £6,000. This money he did not have nor did he have insurance.
49.As we were unemployed and unable to obtain suitable employment we could
not assist financially. Luckily his girlfriend paid enough to get him out of
hospital.
50.However, because he couldn’t pay the rest of the bill or return home, on 22
August 2018 he committed suicide.
51.We couldn't afford to have his body returned home, he was cremated by the
local Buddhists at their temple. The local funeral parlour and the funeral
service came to £3,500 which again we could not afford. A Facebook
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collection was set up which was very humiliating but did help. We borrowed
the rest from our daughter (his sister).
52.The whole experience made us feel helpless and hopeless. We had lost our
only son because we could not afford to help him. Now we can but it is too
late.
53.Following my conviction, I stopped seeing friends because I did not want them
to know about the problems. Some friends stopped contact with me because
they didn’t want to the stigma to follow them.
54.In respect of our local community, details of my conviction appeared in the
local newspaper which had an impact on my self-esteem and self-confidence.
The humiliation of being convicted and being unemployed caused me
depression. I had difficulty explaining to people why I was not working as this
was against my character.
PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECT WHICH THESE
ISSUES HAD UPON THE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?
55.The issues with the Post Office Horizon system, the financial pressure this put
us under and my resulting conviction have had an enormous impact on not
just my life but that of my husband and wider family also.
56.In 2019, my husband experienced cardiac problems. He is on medication
which is basically keeping him alive.
57.The financial impact of this ordeal has not just impacted me but has impacted
my husband also. We used to live in big houses and now we live in a shared
ownership house.
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CONCLUDING REMARKS
58.1 feel very bitter and sad about how I was treated by the Post Office. I now find
it very difficult to trust people in authority. I continue to suffer waves of anxiety
at any mention of the Post Office.
Statement Of Truth
I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.
Signed: Position Or
L. _GRO I Office Held:
Print Full Date of signature: Jan 11, 2022
Name: LYNETTE HUTCHINGS
FILE REFERENCE:
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