Exonerated sub-postmistress Seema Misra faces legal threats over a £60k bill from her solicitor
Seema Misra thought the worst was behind her.
In 2010, while pregnant and on her eldest son’s tenth birthday, she was sent to Bronzefield prison. Accused of stealing £74,000 from her post office in West Byfleet, Surrey, Misra was convicted of theft and sentenced to 15 months behind bars. She would later become a symbol of the devastating Post Office Horizon scandal—one of over 900 sub-postmasters wrongfully prosecuted based on faulty data.
Her conviction was quashed in 2021, and in April this year, she was awarded an OBE for her tireless campaigning. But now, at 50, the trauma is far from over.
Misra is locked in a distressing new battle—this time with her former solicitor. Nick Gould, who originally worked pro bono to help overturn her conviction, is now demanding she pay £60,000 in legal fees. Misra says she has received no breakdown or explanation of the charges.
“I asked for details of exactly what work he had done since my conviction was set aside to justify this, but have received no details,” she told the BBC.
Emails seen by the BBC suggest Misra initially signed a 2021 agreement to pay for “commercial legal services” at a fixed hourly rate after her conviction was overturned. But Mr Gould later claimed they had revised the deal: Misra would pay either £60,000 or 5% of her compensation—whichever was lower.
She has already paid him more than £20,000, yet in May she received a legal threat from his current law firm, Impact Lawyers, stating she would be sued unless the outstanding amount was paid.
The timing has only deepened her distress. Misra has yet to receive her full compensation from the Post Office.
Embed from Getty Images“I felt uneasy, but I trusted Nick that this must be correct if he, a solicitor, was telling me so,” she said.
At the time, Mr Gould was working for Aria Grace Law. The firm has since distanced itself, saying he was removed from professional duties in January over “serious concerns regarding his conduct.”
“Mr Gould does not and must not be taken to speak for Aria Grace,” a spokesperson said, adding that the firm stood by the victims of the scandal and condemned any behaviour that exploited their trust.
BBC journalist Nick Wallis, who has covered the Horizon scandal extensively, said Misra contacted him “in some distress.”
“All Seema wanted to know was what work he had done to justify the bill,” he said.
In response, Mr Gould reportedly told Wallis: “The full facts and the whole truth are important. I am extremely sorry that Mrs Misra and, apparently, perhaps others felt it necessary to make numerous unsubstantiated allegations against me. The allegations made against me are incorrect.”
Still, Misra remains adamant that no proper explanation has been given.
“I don’t think Nick has acted as a solicitor should and the whole thing has caused me and my family great upset,” she said. “I hope Nick Gould and Impact… will now do the right thing and drop the matter so that we don’t have to carry on worrying about it and spending further time on it.”
After everything she’s endured—from being wrongfully imprisoned while pregnant to rebuilding her life and fighting for justice—Misra says she wants no more conflict.
But if the case proceeds, she’s prepared to defend herself in court.
