Kate Middleton stood by her postmaster when he was accused of stealing
A postmaster was backed by Kate Middleton and her family during his ten-year fight for justice.
Hasmukh Shingadia, 63, has today demanded "every conviction is overturned" as a campaign grows for justice for the approximate 700 sub postmasters wrongfully convicted of theft from the Post Office amid the Horizon scandal. A dispute around alleged problems with a faulty accounting system led to these between 1999 and 2015, an issue raised in last week's docudrama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office on ITV.
Since 1998, Hasmukh has ran the Post Office and Spar in Upper Bucklebury, Berkshire, where Kate Middleton grew up with her family. He got a suspended sentence for false accounting overturned and, during his ten-year battle for justice, he said the Middletons supported him significantly.
"They continued to come into my shop and spend money here. Even after Kate got engaged she’d still pop in. Not everybody did that and some locals shunned me," the grandfather said today.
Hasmukh was given a suspended jail term after his dodgy Horizon computer system showed £16,000 of discrepancies in 2011, a conviction only quashed in 2021. When it was overturned, the Middletons attended a celebratory tea party at Bucklebury memorial hall in the rural village.
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But the postmaster has now demanded Rishi Sunak exonerate all 736 sub-postmasters convicted from 2000 to 2015, and backed a probe into bungling Post Office chiefs. Yesterday, former Post Office boss Paula Vennells said she will hand back her CBE with immediate effect amid fury over the Horizon IT scandal. It comes after 1.2million people signed a petition demanded Ms Vennells was stripped of the gong after the ITV drama reignited anger.
Hasmukh and Chandrika run the shop in the village where Kate grew up (PA)
Prince William and Kate Middleton pose for photographs after the got engaged (Getty Images)Describing Ms Vennells' call as the "right decision", Hasmukh added: "Those jailed will never get that time back. Even those who didn’t go to jail lost years with the stress... Hopefully now there will be progress."
Nearly 15 million people have already watched the four-part Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones, and it sparked fresh calls for justice. Hasmukh, who told The Sun he watched the all-star series, told the Horizon inquiry in 2022 that his second home in Leicester, to which he planned to retire, had been repossessed after his conviction.
The dad, whose shop no longer has a Post Office, and his 55-year-old wife Chandrika were invited to Kate and Prince William's royal wedding in 2011. His conviction happened shortly afterwards, sparking the ten-year battle for justice.
"He (Michael Middleton, Kate's father) was overjoyed and said, ‘Well done’. I know I couldn’t ask them for help directly because of the position they were in. But I am really grateful to the wider family for standing by me. They are really good people," Hasmukh continued.
Hasmukh was given a suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court (PA)
Kate and her family supported the postmaster throughout his lengthy campaign for justice (Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock)Hasmukh bought his branch for around £60,000 and spent thousands on renovations. Fujitsu’s Horizon system was installed in 2001. He immediately noticed glitches in the tech, before error messages in 2009 and 2010 showed shortfalls of several hundred pounds.
The financial errors were caused by faulty software duplicating transactions, despite assurances the blunders were not possible. The total amount missing stacked up to £16,000, which Hasmukh attempted to make good by putting in his own earnings and borrowing from friends and family.
Hasmukh said he repeatedly called the helpline but the Post Office offered little support and claimed the problem was isolated. In March 2010 auditors from the Post Office suspended him after finding the shortfall. Hasmukh was diagnosed with cancer, had surgery to remove a sarcoma and lost his mother in the same year.
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His Post Office contract was later terminated before lawyers at the public body launched a bid to pursue him criminally. Hasmukh pleaded guilty on the advice of his solicitor who warned fighting the case could see him jailed for years.
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And, just 83 days after the royal wedding, he was handed an eight-month suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court, ordered to pay more than £2,000 in costs and do 200 hours’ community service.
Only 93 convictions were overturned despite evidence the Post Office was aware of glitches. Around 60 people are believed to have died before their convictions could be quashed.
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