Sub-postmaster speaks of suicide attempt following wrongful conviction

Carl Page, who kept a post office branch in Anson Street, Rugeley, has told the Horizon Post Office Inquiry how he lay on a railway track in an attempt to take his own life.

Mr Page, a Gulf War veteran and former semi-professional footballer, told the inquiry he had rebuilt his life after being released from prison, working long hours to secure senior management positions. But he said his criminal record forced him to turn down job offers, while the strain of his prison sentence caused the break-up of his second marriage and the collapse of a further relationship. The publicity surrounding his arrest and conviction meant he lost contact with his two sons for 18 years, he added.

"I came out of prison a different person," he said. "I became quite mistrustful and became cold and distant towards people," he said.

"Things were getting on top of me and my debts were building up, this ended in a suicide attempt in January 2014 and I was admitted to a mental health hospital for three weeks. I was subsequently diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder."

Mr Page, now 57, was sentenced to two years in prison in January 2007 after pleading guilty to the theft of £94,000. But his conviction was quashed in April 2020 after it emerged that the discrepancies may have been caused by a glitch with the Horizon computer system, which led to more than 700 convictions of former post-office workers being declared unsafe.

In his witness statement to the inquiry, Mr Page said he was initially charged with stealing £586,000 and money laundering. A nine-day trial held at the Waterfront in Brierley Hill, near Dudley, saw Mr Page cleared of money laundering. The jury failed to reach a verdict on the theft charge, and the Post Office applied for a retrial, reducing the sum he was accused of stealing to £282,000.

Mr Page said: "My legal team advised me that, if I was convicted, I would have so serve seven years in prison, and I was advised to make a plea that I stole £94,000.

"Anything less than £100,000 would get me only two years in prison. I took this advice on board as I had a child and a family, and I thought this was the easier option."

Mr Page served six months of his two-year sentence in custody, before being released on an electronic tag.

Mr Page said he bought the post office with his first wife in April, 1997, at a cost of £102,496. His wife, a former bank worker, was experienced in handling computer systems, but following the break-up of his marriage in 2001, he missed her experience.

"I began noticing shortfalls in the balancing, and initially just thought this was due to silly mistakes I was making," he said.

"I identified the need for additional training due to these shortfalls and had requested this from my area manager, who was called Steve Gerghty, but this fell on deaf ears. I had made such a success of the Post Office, but started doubting my own ability due to the shortfalls."

Mr Page said he made up the shortfalls at his own expense, and was not especially worried at first as it was only small amounts. As the discrepancies shown on the Horizon computer system got larger, he was formally disciplined by the Post Office and ordered to make up the money.

"I was so frustrated as I was asking for help, but just being told to sort it out."

By this time, Mr Page told the inquiry he was paying back £300-£350 a month.

Mr Page was arrested on January 13, 2003, after voluntary attending his local police station. He described the humiliation of having his home searched in a small village, in full view of the neighbours.

He said the daughter of one of the police officers at the station when he was arrested attended the same school as his step-daughter, which added to the humiliation.

Mr Page said his assets were frozen and he was suspended from the post office. He was allowed to continue running the attached convenience store, which he had bought as a separate business, but was not allowed to use the toilet which was in the post-office part of the building.

He said he had received four offers in the region of £140,000 for the business, but the Post Office obstructed him in the sale. He ended up handing the business back to the Post Office free of charge.

"Things became petty with them," he said. "I was given seven days to remove what was left from the retail side of the business, but was not allowed in the back to collect my personal belongings. I was told I would be charged for them to remove fittings in the retail side, they made a very difficult time even more stressful."

Mr Page said he struggled to find work while the case was ongoing, but secured a job as a security guard in 'a very rough area of Birmingham' through a friend towards the end of 2004.

He also secured work with a kitchen fitting company, which was so impressed with his work that he was offered a job as project manager.

But he said while his employer knew about his dispute with the Post Office, he was fearful that his colleagues would find out.

Shortly before his arrest, he had put down a deposit on a new house, and was required to get the Post Office's permission to move into the property. His parents had to provide him with financial support and pay the mortgage.

While in prison he lost his job at the kitchen-fitting company, but managed to find work on his release.

"I managed to work my way up to good management roles, but could not go any further due to my conviction," he said.

"I did not lie on my CV, so my employers were aware of my conviction, but I was head-hunted for some positions which required CRB checks.

"I did not even attempt to apply as I knew what the result would be and I did not want to jeopardise my current roles.

"I was even offered a job to set up an operation in Spain for a company, this would have been a wonderful experience for me and my family. This job was subject to CRB checks, so again, I did not even attempt this."

Mr Page said he had been working as an operations manager for a furniture for the five years up until February 2021, but handed in his notice as the court case surrounding the Horizon scandal became more prominent in the news.

"I still felt ashamed, although I had not done anything wrong, and because of that, I did not want anybody to know about my issues."

Mr Page said the publicity surrounding the court case led to him losing contact with his two sons, as people started asking them questions which they found embarrassing.

"One of my boys grew up to be a professional cricketer, and the other an IT manager for a high-street bank, after gaining his degree from Oxford," he said.

"It is devastating to have to read about their success in the paper and on social media, knowing I have not been involved in their lives for 18 years."