Rab Thomson was convicted 17 years ago and is angry at not being able to clear his name
By Katie Hunter
BBC Scotland reporter
A former sub-postmaster convicted of embezzlement during the Post Office Horizon scandal says he is angry it is taking so long to clear his name.
The scandal has been described as “the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history”.
Rab Thomson’s case was one of six in Scotland referred back to court in November 2022 as a potential miscarriage of justice.
The courts service said his appeal would be heard in January.
Between 2000 and 2014, more than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses across the UK were convicted based on information from the faulty accounting system Horizon.
So far, 93 convictions have been overturned and more than £23m has been paid in compensation.
Its annual accounts show it has now set aside £244m, down from £487m last year, with management saying the new figure is “the latest and best estimate” of the amount of future claims.
Mr Thomson took over Cambus Post Office in Clackmannanshire from his mum in the early 2000s, around the time the Post Office was rolling out its new Horizon system.
A few years later an alleged cash shortfall was discovered.
Mr Thomson said he pled guilty to embezzlement in 2006 on the advice of his lawyer in the hope of avoiding prison. He was sentenced to 180 hours of community service.
The 64-year-old told the BBC he had hoped to have his name cleared by now.
Image source, Rab Thomson
Rab Thomson’s mother died before he had the chance to clear his name
He said: “I feel angry and emotional and also it’s beginning to take its toll on my family because of the length of time it’s going on.
“I just wish it would go away really.
“I don’t know if that’s what the Post Office is hoping for but I’m not going to give in. I’m going to fight until the end.”
Two people of the six people referred back to court last year have had their convictions quashed on appeal. Four others from the initial group – including Mr Thomson – are still waiting.
A UK-wide inquiry into what happened during the Horizon scandal is underway.
It has uncovered documents that suggest at least one prosecutor in Scotland knew there were problems with the Post Office’s IT system as far back as 2013.
Documents produced in the inquiry referred to a case in the Gorbals area of Glasgow where the procurator fiscal “cited issues with Horizon for not proceeding with the case”.
Dr Andrew Tickell is a senior law lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University who has been following the public inquiry.
He said the development was huge and raised questions.
“This revelation was that a particular case involving a Gorbals post office was sent back to the Post Office on the basis there were known problems with Horizon,” he said
“Known to one procurator fiscal? Known to the Crown Office? Known by more than that? We really still don’t know.”
Address the past
Dr Tickell also pointed to a letter from the Crown Office to the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board that said it did not anticipate the number of Horizon cases in Scotland would “amount to in excess of 100”.
The letter also said that unlike in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Scottish criminal justice system is “very much closer to the start of its journey” in addressing potential miscarriages of justice related to Horizon.
BBC News asked the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service when it first became aware of issues with Horizon, and that if there was an awareness of problems in 2013 then why has it taken so long to get cases back to court?
A spokesperson said: “In order to respect the integrity of the ongoing Scottish cases and the inquiry process it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service said Mr Thomson’s appeal is to be heard on 12 January at a three judge procedural hearing.
A Post Office spokesperson said: “We’re doing all we can to address the past.
“Both Post Office and government are committed to providing full, fair and final compensation for people affected.
“We fully share the aims of the current public inquiry, set up to establish what went wrong in the past and the accountability for it.”
