A victim of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal is taking legal action against the government-owned organisation as she seeks full redress for her wrongful conviction.
Janet Skinner is believed to be only the second victim to sue the Post Office.
The former subpostmistress has been “forced” to take the state-owned business to court, her solicitor told Sky News.
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Ms Skinner has been a campaigner for victims of the faulty Horizon software for nearly two decades.
Around 1,000 people were wrongly prosecuted and convicted throughout the UK between 1999 and 2015 as a result of Horizon.
Despite having her conviction for false accounting overturned in 2021, Ms Skinner has yet to receive a final payment, has been given an insufficient interim sum and is being asked for six different expert reports, said lawyer Simon Goldberg.
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Ms Skinner is taking legal action in an attempt to see the issue resolved.
“There’s no sign of resolution. We’re only forced to do it because enough is enough,” Mr Goldberg said.
“It’s cruel and traumatic beyond belief that she should still have to be fighting.”
Ms Skinner’s claim should have been settled within 12 months of the conviction being overturned, he said.
Mr Goldberg added the interim offers are not in keeping with the recommendations of retired High Court judge Sir Wyn Williams, who presided over the public inquiry into the scandal.
Both the Post Office and the Department for Business and Trade, which administers all but one of the victims’ redress schemes, said in October they would “always apply a generous approach” to assessing redress.
But Ms Skinner was initially offered a payment worth only 15% of her total claim.
“They’ve [claim assessors] clearly tried to grind her down and make her give up, and we’re not playing,” her solicitor said.
More legal action to come?
While Ms Skinner is believed to be only the second victim to launch a civil case against the Post Office, she may not be the last.
A postmaster made famous after being portrayed in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Lee Castleton became the first to take such action in March.
“Unless there’s a sea change, there will definitely be more claims,” Mr Goldberg said.
Ms Skinner was given a nine-month custodial sentence in 2007 after the Horizon computer programme, made by Fujitsu, incorrectly generated a £59,000 shortfall.
She was imprisoned when her two children were in their teens, released with an ankle monitor tag, and sold her house when it was due to be repossessed.
Amid the ordeal, Ms Skinner suffered a neurological collapse and was left paralysed from the neck down. She has had to regain the ability to walk.
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A Post Office spokesperson said: “We recognise the devastating impact of the Horizon IT Scandal on former postmasters like Ms Skinner and would like to unequivocally apologise for her experiences.
“Responsibility for Ms Skinner’s redress claim moved to the Department for Business and Trade in June 2025.
“We cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings but once we receive the claim, we will engage fully in the process.”
