Former Postmaster in Kate Middleton’s Hometown Seeks Justice After Landmark Decision to Exonerate Wrongly Convicted Postmasters

Former postmaster Hasmukh Shingadia, who ran the Post Office and Spar in Kate Middleton’s hometown, Upper Bucklebury, has made another plea for justice following the recent landmark decision to exonerate those wrongly convicted in the Horizon IT scandal. Shingadia, who fought for 10 years to have his wrongful conviction overturned, is part of a growing campaign seeking justice for approximately 700 sub-postmasters who were caught up in the Horizon IT scandal between 1999 and 2015.

Blanket legislation to clear the names of subpostmasters convicted in England and Wales will be introduced in the coming weeks, potentially opening the door to substantial compensation for those who were wronged.

Shingadia, who had his suspended sentence for false accounting overturned, expressed his hope that “every conviction is overturned.” He also highlighted the support he received from the Middleton family during his decade-long battle for justice, with Kate Middleton herself continuing to patronize his shop even after her engagement.

Reflecting on the recent developments, Shingadia stated, “Now it’s about waiting for the compensation deals to come through. Hopefully, this decision will hurry things along as the Post Office has been dragging their feet.”

He also called for further questioning of former Post Office chief Paula Vennells and former postal affairs minister Ed Davey under oath in the Horizon public inquiry, emphasizing the need to uncover hidden information and understand why certain actions were taken.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak characterized the wrongful convictions as “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history.” The Horizon accounting system was at the center of convictions that were later deemed flawed, with allegations of incompetence and malevolence on the part of the Post Office in its dealings with subpostmasters.