Former subpostmaster criticises ‘buffoonery’ of Ed Davey’s general election campaign

A former subpostmaster who lost his livelihood in the Horizon IT scandal has accused Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey of “buffoonery” for his stunt-laden election campaign.

Lee Castleton compared Sir Ed’s actions to those of former Tory prime minister Boris Johnson, adding that trust is “never going to be built” by “paddleboarding in Cumbria”.

Sir Ed has come under fire for not doing more to help wrongly-convicted subpostmasters between 2010 and 2012 when he served as postal affairs minister in the coalition government.

He has previously apologised for failing to see through the Post Office’s “lies” and insisted he is taking voters’ concerns seriously during a campaign in which he has visited a theme park and an assault course.