Lee Castleton OBE is one of the best-known voices to emerge from the Post Office Horizon scandal—an ordinary small-business owner who found himself crushed by a powerful institution, after faulty accounting data made it look as though money was missing from his branch accounts.
In 2003, Lee and his wife bought a Post Office branch in East Yorkshire. Within a year, unexplained discrepancies began appearing on the Horizon system. Certain it could not be right, Lee repeatedly sought help—reportedly calling the Horizon helpline 91 times—yet the problems persisted and the support he received failed to resolve the underlying issue.
What followed was devastating. The Post Office audited and suspended him, insisted he was financially liable for the apparent shortfall, and pursued him through the civil courts. Unable to fund sustained legal representation, Lee ultimately represented himself. When he lost, the Post Office pursued him for legal costs reported at £321,000—bankrupting him and triggering years of financial, emotional, and reputational fallout for him and his family.
Lee’s case has since been widely cited as emblematic of how institutional certainty, flawed technology evidence, and imbalanced legal firepower can combine to produce profound injustice. Evidence heard at the public inquiry has also shed light on how his case was viewed internally—as a warning shot to deter others from challenging Horizon.
His story reached a much wider public through the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, where he was portrayed by Will Mellor, helping to crystallise national understanding of the human cost behind the scandal.
Now a sought-after speaker and campaigner, Lee speaks with rare authority about truth, accountability, moral courage, and the responsibility professionals carry when systems—and institutions—go wrong. In recognition of his continuing service to justice, he received an OBE.
In his work with legal and professional audiences, Lee’s challenge is direct:
“Every one of you should regard yourselves as regulators. Every one of you can call someone out. If someone is doing something in your practice that they shouldn’t be, it shouldn’t need a regulator to tell you what is right and wrong.â€
He continues to pursue public vindication and accountability through the courts, including legal action involving the Post Office and Fujitsu.
Areas of Expertise:
Testimonials
“Lee is the only person I’ve seen make people cry at a legal event. And rightly so. His story of mistreatment at the hands of the Post Office and its executives and lawyers is horrendous and a national shame. But perhaps even more important is witnessing Lee’s graciousness and eloquence in telling that story. To be honest, interviewing Lee on stage at Crafty Fest is perhaps the single most extraordinary thing that’s happened to me in my career.â€
Ben White – Founder of Crafty Counsel Â
Last night’s IOD Annual Convention was a powerful reminder of the importance of integrity, accountability, and resilience in leadership.
Hearing directly from Lee Castleton about the Post Office Scandal was both heartbreaking and deeply thought-provoking. His story is a stark example of what happens when systems fail and why we must continue to challenge and improve the structures we work within.
As professionals, we have a responsibility to enable cultures that prioritise transparency and fairness. Events like this help us reflect on how we lead, how we support others, and how we ensure that such injustices are never repeated. Certainly, food for thought.
Steve Stormonth – KPMG Crown DependenciesÂ
‘The Courage to Speak’ Podcast
Lee Castleton a former sub-postmaster gives his first in-depth interview since announcing that he’d become the first victim to individually sue the Post Office and Fujitsu.
Lee tells me why he has brought the new case and what he hopes to achieve.
We discuss the horrendous impact the 21 years of wrongful persecution and prosecution have had on him, his family and former colleagues, and he reveals some of the tactics employed against them.
Lee is an astonishingly calm and measured man – but he doesn’t hold back.
Leonie Mellinger – The Courage To Speak PodcastÂ
