Horizon scandal: Three subpostmasters honoured with OBEs but vow 'fight for justice continues'
Seema Misra, Lee Castleton and Christopher Head received the honour for services to justice as ITV News' Geraint Vincent reports
Three former subpostmasters have been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE), but vow their "fight for justice continues".
Seema Misra, Lee Castleton and Christopher Head received the honour for services to justice after their tireless campaigning for themselves, and hundreds of other subpostmasters, who were wrongly accused of stealing money from their post offices.
Speaking to ITV News, Mr Head described the day as a "huge honour and privilege", but said it was overshadowed by fact that he, like many subpostmasters have not been cleared in law - and have not yet received compensation.
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He said: "We all just want to wake up and not have to think about the post office again but as we've done previously we'll pick up tomorrow where we left off, and continue the fight to make sure we get this over the line."
"One side of the state is recognising all the work that's been done to campaign, and the other part of the state is inflicting that harm on you. I may be young and I've got a lot more fight left in but there's a lot of people who haven't made it this far or can't carry on fighting and it just needs to stop. I really hope they will listen."
The three subpostmasters were presented with the awards by Princess Anne in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Mr Castleton said Her Royal Highness was knowledgeable about the Post Office inquiry and Horizon scandal: "She had a huge amount of empathy for the victims involved in this. She asked me a few questions about how it felt in the early days, and said we should be proud of where we are now."
Despite it not being monetary compensation from the government, Mr Castleton said receiving an OBE was a wonderful platform to keep people listening and engaged.
"The case against me in 2007 still stands to this day," he told ITV News. "There is a little bit of irony to say 21 years ago I was bankrupt and cast out, and now I'm very grateful to be honoured in this way."
He continued: "It won't change the steps going forward, it just makes me and the group shout louder."
Seema Misra, who also received an honour, agreed that it was a "happy day" and a step in the "right direction" for their campaign.
She said: "Hopefully this will give some weight to it. The fight is still on waiting for compensation for everyone and accountability to set the right example.
"We need to prove that nobody is above the law."
Sir Alan Bates has urged victims of the Horizon scandal to take the Government to court over delays to financial redress.
In an email sent to members of campaign group Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA), seen by ITV News, Sir Alan said a judicial review would “probably be the quickest way to ensure fairness for all”.
He told the group it would likely take until November 2027 for all claims to be completed.
More than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts.
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