As a genealogist I spend my time rooting around in the past. In January 2024, as ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office aired, I was researching the Pendle witch trials of 1612. Reading about both simultaneously, something resonated: an enduring theme of misuse of power and its impact on the administration of justice.
Events leading to the Pendle witch trials started when Alizon Device, a young pauper woman, was refused pins by a pedlar. Following a harsh exchange of words, the pedlar collapsed, probably from a stroke. However, over the following days, Alizon and her mother, grandmother and brother were accused of witchcraft. Under interrogation, each accused others. More people were implicated for having visited the Device home to offer support. Of the twelve accused, eleven were found guilty: one died in prison, ten were hanged. A not exactly objective account of the proceedings was published by court clerk Thomas Potts: The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster.
Centuries later in another travesty of justice, hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting, following the Post Office’s introduction in 1999 of Horizon, an accounting system provided by Fujitsu. This was found to have serious software glitches which caused financial discrepancies.
Evidence twisted, ignored or not required
The Pendle witch trials occurred in the midst of a massive witch-hunting frenzy which reached its peak around 1560-1630. In England alone, more than 500 people were executed as witches. Some were midwives, or ‘cunning folk’ who used herbs to heal; others were paupers, or were accused simply for vengeance. Most, but not all, were women, many aged over forty.
Fear of witches and demons was woven into all layers of society. King James I himself was an authority, citing biblical proof of witchcraft and demons in his 1597 treatise, Daemonologie, and explaining how to identify and punish witches. Normal rules of ‘evidence’, he decreed, were not necessary for a witch trial. Indeed, the ‘witch’ did not even have to be present when the tragedy for which they were blamed occurred. Mostly, ‘evidence’ was simply accusations and spoken accounts, with children and people of questionable honesty accepted as valid witnesses for the prosecution. Indeed, the key witness at the Pendle Trials was Jennet Device, a child of 9, who outed her entire family as witches in a manner suggestive of having been ‘coached’ by the local Justice of the Peace. No defence witnesses were permitted.
At the Post Office trials, what evidence was available was often disregarded. Despite written statements from its own criminal investigator that he was “unable to find any evidence of theft or that the cash figures had been deliberately inflated” by sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton, the Post Office went ahead with prosecution. Unaware of the above, and advised that her only hope of avoiding prison was to ‘repay’ £36,000 and plead guilty to the lesser charge of false accounting, she did that.
Subversion of justice to personal or corporate goals
With historic authority to investigate its own cases, the Post Office was victim, investigator and prosecutor. Legal experts have long warned of the dangers of large, powerful organisations having such control over every stage, fearing they may occasionally have ‘motivations other than securing justice’. The immediate motivation of Post Office bosses seems to have been ‘brand reputation’. However, this crackdown on the apparent nationwide outbreak of criminality amongst sub-postmasters appeared to serve them well, whether by the gift of public honours or appointment to prime positions elsewhere.
At Pendle, too, the establishment had it all sewn up. The local investigator/Justice of the Peace and the trial judges saw an opportunity to further their own reputations and curry favour with the king by this public showcasing of success in his campaign against evil. Thomas Potts, too, was rewarded with royal appointments.
A huge imbalance of power
The helplessness and hopelessness of simple, innocent people four hundred years ago accused of a crime which, being invisible, requires no physical evidence, and for which the sentence is death, is horrific to imagine. Our sub-postmasters, though, were experienced businesspeople living in an era of human rights. They understood accounts and had undergone training for Horizon. Yet each was repeatedly told, “This is happening only to you.” With money, status and reputation all lining up with the law against the ordinary person, this already huge imbalance of power was underpinned by gaslighting, bullying investigators, withdrawal of independent forensic accountants, and the consistent repudiation of actual facts.
Lives ruined
Between 1999-2015, of around 700 sub-postmasters convicted of Horizon-related crimes, 236 were imprisoned. Four took their own lives; others tried to do so. 33 died before their names could be cleared. Following criminal convictions, the Post Office pushed for Proceeds of Crime Act orders, which allowed them to seize assets of the former sub-postmasters. Hence, loss of business and livelihood was often followed by homelessness and bankruptcy. At a civil hearing, in addition to ‘repayment’ of losses totalling £25,000, Lee Castleton was ordered to pay legal costs of £321,000.
Today, hampered by criminal records, some do menial work for minimum wage. Reputations were in ruins. Seema Misra’s joy at the birth of her child is tainted by the memory of her electronic probation tag. Relationships broke down. Mental and physical health was seriously impacted, and for many this continues to be so. We are starting to understand the utter devastation wrought on the lives of these innocent people. Many more avoided court by just ‘repaying’ the missing cash.
Misuse of power
Even allowing for a deep societal fear of witches and demons, those found guilty of witchcraft in Pendle did not have a fair trial. We should expect such travesties of justice to be a thing of the past. However, as the facts about the Post Office scandal continue to unfold, we see that the systems and structures we would expect to be in place to support and protect ordinary citizens remain subject to manipulation and distortion by individuals motivated by personal, commercial or political self-interest.
It transpires that Post Office and Fujitsu bosses understood from the outset that Horizon was faulty, but were under pressure to roll it out and prepared to allow sub-postmasters to take the flak. Those whose lives now lie in tatters are victims of the very crimes of which they were accused and for which they faced the full force of the law.
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