Norwich family launch Horizon Post Office scandal petition

Roger Allen believed he was one of more than 900 sub-postmasters accused by the Department of Work and Pension (DWP) of stealing money because of incorrect information from the highly controversial Horizon computer system introduced in 2000.

However, Mr Allen - who was sub-postmaster of the St Johns Close post office in Lakenham between 1994 and 2002 - died at his home in Rackheath on March 9 without being able to clear his name.

Roger Allen, a postmaster caught up in the Horizon Post Office scandal, died before his name was cleared (Image: Keren Simpson)

New legislation was introduced on March 13 by the government - which is expected to clear the majority of victims by the end of July -  to speed up clearing victims' names and paying compensation, but this doesn't cover DWP prosecutions.

His daughter, Keren Simpson, continues to fight for her father's exoneration and has set up a government petition.

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Keren said: "I believe everyone should be cleared because it's obvious all cases around that time are related to the Horizon scandal.

The government petition needs to reach 100,000 signatures to be discussed in Parliament (Image: Keren Simpson)

"I've received a lot of support from various avenues so I want to keep the momentum going and capitalise on it to clear my father's name.

"It only went live on Wednesday and there's already 300 signatures, but if I can get 100,000 it will go to Parliament - so that's the aim, which I know is no small feat, but it's possible.

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"With the scandal now in the public eye again I hope people will be sympathetic to the cause."

Roger Allen died on March 9 at his home in Rackheath (Image: Keren Simpson)

The St Johns Close post office in Lakenham, pictured in January 2003 (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Allen's case was dismissed by Court of Appeal judges in 2021 due to a lack of evidence that it was a "Horizon case".

A public inquiry into the scandal has been ongoing since February 2021 and has heard evidence from Post Office and Fujitsu employees - which developed the Horizon system.

However, the scandal became much better known after an ITV dramatisation was broadcast in January.

Keren Simpson, Roger's daughter believes everyone should be cleared in the Horizon Post Office scandal (Image: Newsquest)