WITNESS: JANINE POWELL
STATEMENT NUMBER: WITNO256_01
EXHIBITS: 0
DATED: Jan 14, 2022
POST OFFICE HORIZON I.T INQUIRY
FIRST WRITTEN STATEMENT OF JANINE POWELL
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, MISS JANINE POWELL, Date of Birth! of address:
as follows:-
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
1. I am now 50 years of age, and I am a Bar Manager at the Broadway Park
Hotel on the Isle Of Wight. I live ind have done sincéGRo:
few months ago. I have 3 children}
‘All of my children live on the mainland.
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POST OFFICE HISTORY
2. Prior to working at the Post Office, I was employed by Edinburgh Woollen Mill,
a clothing retailer. I started this job in 1995/1996 and stayed for about 3 years.
I then took a gap in my employment to be a full-time mum before applying to
work in the Post Office.
3. I saw there was a vacancy for a counter assistant at the Cowley Moor Post
Office, Tiverton in 2005/2006. This was ideal for me because it was close to
where I lived, and I was eager to serve the people of my community. It was
my hometown. I was a sociable and confident person and enjoyed the
interaction with the public.
4. It was only after a few weeks of working as a counter assistant that I was
given the role of sub-postmaster. This was not a role I applied for, but I was
asked if I would like to take on this when the previous sub-postmaster
resigned. Although I found the new position daunting, as I had only worked at
the Post Office for a matter of weeks, I was also very excited about my new
role and was eager and confident I could make it work.
CRIMINAL ALLIGATIONS AND ANY PROCEEDINGS/CONVICTION
5.
“was living with his father. In early 2007, I remember receiving a
phone call from the Area Manager and an auditor. They asked me to come
downstairs and meet them in the Post Office.
6. When I joined them, I was asked to hand my keys to them, and I was advised
that I was suspended pending an investigation into the theft of around
£74,000. My contract was subsequently terminated by the Post Office. I am
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unable to put into words how I felt at that moment in time: confused;
dismayed; numb. I felt sure that they would realise their mistake.
7. I was summoned to court to face charges of Theft in September 2008. I
pleaded Not Guilty to the charge but was convicted of Theft and sentenced to
18 months imprisonment.
THE HUMAN IMPACT
8. The human impact which the failings of the Horizon I.T 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 but the
Inquiry.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING REQUIRED TO MAKE GOOD
APPARENT SHORTFALLS SHOWN BY THE HORIZON I.T SYSTEM
9. I had experienced issues previously with Horizon, whereby discrepancies
would appear and not make sense. I would go through the accounts with
colleagues, and we couldn’t work out where these discrepancies came from.
10.We corrected the system ourselves to account for the discrepancies and
made each other aware of this, but we would refer the issues onto my Area
Manager, who would then refer it on to the Head Office. The Area Manager
corrected the system, and we did not have to pay back any of these
discrepancies.
11.1 do not recall ever signing any contract with the Post Office.
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WHAT WERE THE COSTS OF MAKING GOOD ALLEGED SHORTFALLS
SHOWN BY HORIZON?
12.As stated above, I was fully upfront with the shortfalls alleged by the Horizon
system with my Area Manager, and these issues were resolved as and when
they occurred.
13. These shortfalls were rolled over, corrected on the system, and reported to
the Post Office Head Office.
HOW WERE YOU AFFECTED WHEN ALLEGED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE SHORTFALLS OR DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY THE HORIZON I.T
SYSTEM?
14. My overall feeling at the time was a sense of shock and hurt. I had been
running the Post Office successfully for about a year or so and, whilst I
noticed shortfalls from time to time, these were always reported, and I was
always advised not to worry by the Post Office Helpline.
15.1 was trying to understand where the money could have gone. I didn’t get the
chance to talk to the auditors about it as they weren’t interested in what I had
to say. It was like they needed someone to blame; they chose me and that
was it. This act alone made me feel hurt and unheard. It all made me feel like
a criminal because I was presumed guilty. I felt sick and numb.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR
SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY THE HORIZON I.T SYSTEM?
16.As explained above, following the audit by the Post Office, I was suspended,
and my contract terminated.
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17.As a direct result of the Post Office’s accusations, I was summonsed to court
to answer the charge of Theft of £74,000. I was very upset when I received
the summons as I was adamant that I had done nothing wrong.
18.1 pleaded not guilty throughout the trial and thought it was ludicrous that
anyone could believe I had stolen that much money. I had never stolen
anything before in my life and had never been in trouble with the police or
committed any criminal offences.
19. Because I pleaded not guilty at the Magistrates’ Court, my case was
transferred to the Crown Court. I maintained my not guilty stance throughout
the trial. My barrister advised me that I should plead guilty after receiving a
plea deal from the Post Office. The Post Office wanted me to plead guilty to
False Accounting and they would drop the Theft charges. My barrister said
that if I pleaded guilty to this, it was more likely that I would avoid a custodial
sentence.
20. This was a very difficult decision for me as I had three children to think about,
two of whom —!~
“GRO —were living with and dependent on me.
However, I could not believe that I would be found guilty of this offence,
especially as I knew I had not taken the money; I believed they would see the
mistake soon enough.
21.1 reported issues with Horizon on numerous occasions to the Helpline and
thought that this would be thoroughly scrutinised. It was clear to me that there
were issues with Horizon, and I thought this would have exonerated me, I'd
never been in trouble before and I’d never dealt with solicitors before, so I was
just trying to do the right thing, but also wanted to defend myself from
something I didn’t do.
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22.I chose to maintain my innocence throughout the Trial.
WHAT WERE YOUR FINANCIAL LOSSES CAUSED BY ACTION TAKEN
AGAINST YOU IN RELIANCE UPON HORIZON DATA?
was working at
23. Shortly after my suspension, my friend at the time,
Specsavers and said that there was a position available. I applied and got the
job as a contact lens consultant.
24.However, since I was released from prison, I have found it very difficult to
seek employment.
WHAT EFFECT DID IT HAVE TO BE ACCUSED OF COMMITTING CRIMINAL
OFFENCES AS A RESULT OF SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN
BY THE HORIZON I.T SYSTEM?
25.1 just couldn’t, and didn’t, believe it. I couldn’t understand how I was being
labelled as a thief as I did not do anything wrong. I was in total shock from the
moment I received my summons. I find it difficult to express how I felt as I
have tried to block out all memories of this dark time. I was worried about
how my family would react, especially my children and what this meant for
them.
26.I have not opened up to many people about my experiences with the Post
Office and the memories are still very sore.
27.After the first court hearing, I remember there being press coverage about the
crime I had been accused of committing. This was just embarrassing and
degrading. When I went into my shop with a friend, I saw myself in the local
papers, such as the Echo. I went outside and one of the customers at the
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shop stared at me; she clearly knew that I was the person in the news article.
This just made me want to stay inside and hide. I didn’t want to face the world
—I didn’t want people staring at me and judging me. I kept questioning myself
that if they knew and recognised me, what would this mean for my children?
28.One of my friends told me that she saw details of my conviction being shown
on television. Being told everything was being aired on the TV for all to hear
and see was very upsetting and something I struggled to come to terms with. I
didn’t want to see anyone, I didn’t want them judging me for something they
knew nothing about. They only knew one side of the story, and only what they
had been told.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING CONVICTED OF A CRIMINAL
OFFENCE AS A RESULT OF SHORTFALLS AND DISCREPANCIES SHOWN BY
THE HORIZON I.T SYSTEM?
29.Despite pleading my innocence throughout the trial, I was convicted of Theft. I
was released on bail and advised that I would need to come back for a further
hearing for sentencing.
30.1 was very worried when it was explained to me by my solicitor that I should
bring in a bag of clothes in case I was given a custodial sentence.
31.1 brought a close friend along with me to the sentencing hearing for support.
She believed that I was innocent throughout the ordeal with the Post Office,
and it meant a great deal to me that she was there for me and my family.
32.1 was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. As soon as I heard this in the
Court room, I felt faint, and my legs felt like they were going to give way. I
could not believe my life had come to this point. I felt in a total haze and
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remember making eye contact with my friend in the public gallery and seeing
her face. This moment will live with me forever. Questions about my kids and
family were running through my head; 18 months sounds like a short time but
when you have to be away from your children for this long, it feels like a
lifetime.
33.1 was led down the stairs after being handcuffed by the police officers. I had
known there was a real possibility that I could go to prison and had to prepare
myself for the worst, but it was still a massive shock when I found out I would
be going to prison and how long it would be for. Nothing could really have
prepared me for it.
34. My son, io ‘as 18 at the time and had to go and live in a shared house in
Tiverton with people his age. He was placed there by CAMHS. My daughter,
birthday and I had arranged for her to be looked after by my friend at the time,
just in case I was given a custodial sentence. She lived in North
Petherton, which meant that! GRO :had to change schools. This was hard for
her, as some of the students at her new school had found out about my
conviction and bullied her.
35.1 was up front with all my children about my conviction from the start. We have
always been a close family and tried to be straight with each other
was 15 at the time and lived with his dad but I knew that, although he was not
living with me or having to move and make new friends, this would still impact
him greatly. I knew it would impact all my kids. I’m their mum, I’m supposed to
be there looking after them, looking out for them. But because of the
conviction, I couldn't.
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36. In the end I served 5 months in prison and roughly 3 months with an
electronic tag. I was initially at East Wood Park Prison in Gloucestershire.
This was for the first 2 or 3 weeks, and this involved being held in the cell for
most of the day. However, I could still use communal areas in certain hours.
37.1 was then moved to Downview Prison, which made it difficult for my family to
come and see me. This wasn’t an open prison and we had certain rules and
curfews to abide by. At weekends it was normal to be held in my cell for 23
hours a day due to staffing shortages. I remember there was another time for
about a week or two where this would be routine, every day. This was due to
the amount of snow that had fallen which had affected the prison guard
staffing levels.
38.1 was moved the day my children were supposed to visit me. I was given the
moving information the night before. I cried. It broke me. It was hard enough
struggling to see my children at visitation, but this move made it even harder.
39. After I was released from prison, I went to live wit!
sent.
40.1 had to wear an electronic tag for 3 months and I avoided going outside
where I could because I didn’t want anyone to see the tag and I also didn’t
want to sound the alarm; I was extremely anxious.
41. The alarm would often sound anyway, even when I was in my bedroom. I was
called by the officers who monitor the tag and asked where I was. I told them
that I hadn’t moved and that I was in my house. The officer said that the tag
recognises when it’s been kept quite still, and so it thinks it has been cut off,
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42.
43
45
.I remember going to the shop wit
and that someone is breaking their curfew. In essence, the alarm sounded on
the tag because I stayed indoors too much. This would also result in police
turning up at the house and again this made me anxious about what the
neighbours would think and how this would affect my daughter.
I was horrified when! ‘old me about her time living with
became apparent to me that! GRO Iwas very unhappy, and I’m saddened
and hurt that I couldn’t be there to look after and protect my daughter, as a
mother should do.
] immediately after my release, and I
told her to go and pick a chocolate bar for herself. f Ibecame upset and
told me that she wasn’t allowed to. I told her that she was allowed to and to
help herself. She chose a Double Decker, and after we had paid, she had
eaten the bar before we had even left the shop, because she didn’t want to
get into trouble. The shop was directly opposite the house.
Jand I moved out of! jouse and into our own house in the
same village. We had been looking to move out ever since I had found the
I had told me about her experience att
joved in with us too and we were reunited. Although the
memories would never leave us, at least we were together again.
.After my tag was taken off, I decided I wanted to enrol onto a Level 3 course
in Midwifery. In order to enrol onto the course, I needed to complete an
application which set out that I needed to gain some experience in care. I
applied to many places to get this experience, including a number of care
homes and to Musgrove Hospital. However, once they knew about my
conviction, I was let go. This meant that I could never obtain the experience
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needed to enrol onto the midwifery course. It also stopped me from fostering
children which is something I had always wanted to do but, as a result of my
conviction, I was never allowed to.
46.I decided to apply to the One Tree Hotel in North Petherton as a receptionist. I
did not forewarn them about my conviction when I applied as I knew it would
mean they probably wouldn’t hire me. I got the job and had been there for 2
months when they found out about my conviction and decided to let me go. I
felt not revealing my conviction was the only way to move forward with my life
and start afresh with my kids.
47.I tried to apply for more care homes and decided to be upfront about my
conviction, because it was frustrating being let go after it was discovered on a
later date. I couldn’t escape from the label. However, no care home would
employ me due to my conviction. No matter where I am or what I have done,
my conviction has followed me. I just wanted to be left alone and to get on
with my life with my kids and help them lead good lives.
48.A taxi company employed me as a passenger assistant. I declared my
conviction to them, and they were very kind about it. Despite my CRB check
coming back positive, they allowed me to work for them.
49.1 could never escape my conviction despite the many years that had passed.
On a night out, whilst I was still working at the taxi company, someone who I
was out with mentioned the conviction and I just couldn’t deal with it any
longer. My friend had recently moved to Durham, and she said for me to go
/GRO I
and join her, so I moved along with my daughte:
50. During my time living in Durham, I did not work. I was suffering with
depression and anxiety and was also self-harming and suffered suicidal
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thoughts. This was all directly related to the social condemnation I received
from my friends and community following my conviction. Moving to Durham
was the right move for me at the time, as it avoided all the glares I would get
when in public and the tongue in cheek comments from people who I thought
were my friends. I was somewhere where nobody knew my past and I could
look forward instead of my past degrading and controlling everything I did.
51.1 have recently started working for the Broadway Park Hotel in Sandown, Isle
of Wight, as a bar manager. I thoroughly enjoy the work that I am doing now
and I was able to get this job as my conviction was spent.'—
WHAT EFFECT DID THESE ISSUES HAVE UPON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH
YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND LOCAL COMMUNITY?
jas been affected massively by my situation with the Post Office. As
stated above, I left her in the care of someone who I thought I could trust
whilst I was in prison. Only after my release did I realise that this was not the
case.
Isuffers enormously with anxiety and received treatment from her GP.
She suffers from panic attacks and social anxiety, and I firmly believe this is
due to being separated from me for 5 months when she was so young. She
was also diagnosed with depression, EUPD (Emotionally Unstable Personality
Disorder) and trust issues. Her anxiety is a lot better now, and she has settled
down in Durham. Although she was young when I was convicted, she still
recalls the day I was sentenced and everything in between.
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ordeal. From the moment he heard I was under investigation, he was
devasted. He didn’t know what to expect or how to handle the news. He was
just undertaking his GCSEs so it was added stress he didn’t need at the time.
55.When he found out I had been found guilty his heart sank and he didn’t say a
lot to anyone for a couple of days. He found it hard to concentrate on his
GCSEs whilst also worrying about what I was doing each day inside a prison
cell and also how his elder brother was coping on his own, and how his
younger sister was coping not being with the family. When he visited me in
prison, he found it extremely hard.
56.When I was released from prison: G
wasn’t the same person I was before I was wrongly accused. I was isolating
myself from everything and everyone and I had a tendency to push people
and I had a really good relationship before this all happened,
and ever since we have drifted apart. It pains us both every day how much we
have drifted, but he just knew I wasn’t the same person. He understands how
this whole ordeal has impacted the mental health of us all.
‘as complicated. He was 18 at the time of my conviction
and was placed into shared accommodation. Due to my conviction and
situation after my prison sentence, we no longer lived together and our
relationship wasn’t as close as it used to be. He suffered with depression and
tried to overdose on two occasions. I was and remain very upset that I
couldn’t be there for him, and I am sure that if our relationship was in a good
place like it had been before my conviction, he would have come to me for
help.
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58. Whenever ji ould go out on a night out, someone would say something to
him about me and start goading him about my conviction. This was a lot of
sito experience and it impacted on his mental health.
59. After my conviction I lost touch with most people from my hometown. I knew
they would all be talking about me and what they would be saying. I didn’t
want to have to deal with the social condemnation and constant judgment, so
decided to move away to Durham and move on with my life.
60.1 feel like it has only been since I moved to the Isle Of Wight, that I have finally
felt free. I can now start to open up and talk more about what has happened
due to it finally being resolved and my innocence proven.
PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECT WHICH THESE
ISSUES HAD UPON THE MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY?
61 GRO) leveloped anxiety and began self-harming after my release. She has
been heavily assessed by her doctors, and this has also come between us.
My relationship with’ GRO [has been strained for years as she couldn't
accept that I had left her in
as understandably upset when she learned that I had left her in
icare to go to prison. I believe that she had been angry with me, as
in her eyes this all happened because I stole from the Post Office.
63. It’s only recently that! ¢
;has accepted that maybe I hadn't taken this
money and I have explained to her that the Horizon system was faulty. I told
‘GRO: bout my conviction being quashed on 22™ November 2021, but she
didn’t really understand. Our relationship is much better these days.
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64. After my conviction,I
brother,I GRO / and he leads a normal life. I have a very close relationship
now and he comes to visit me on the Isle Of Wight when he can.
is Now engaged, with 3 children, living happily, with a good career
behind him.
66.1 am proud of all of my children, despite what we have all been through as a
family leading up to, during and after my conviction.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
67.My experience with the Post Office has had a long-lasting impact on my
family’s lives. Since I was first accused of stealing money from the Post
Office, my mental health has suffered enormously, and I had to part with my
children when I was sentenced. This was heart breaking and made even
worse by the fact that the friend I let RO : in care of, ended up being
on his own, and not being able to see his broth
talk to him.
68.I have struggled to gain employment for years, and my aspirations of working
in midwifery and fostering were never fulfilled. My relationships with my family
and friends were strained but now I hope my family and I can finally be free.
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Statement Of Truth
I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.
Position Or
Sanine wate powell an ia SOALISSS SHAY Office Held:
Print Full Date of signature: jan 14, 2022
Name: JANINE POWELL
FILE REFERENCE
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