Convictions of sub-postmasters blamed on ANOTHER Post office IT system are sent to Court of Appeal

The first convictions of a former deputy postmaster for theft based on evidence obtained from another Post Office IT system used before the Horizon accounting system have been sent to the Court of Appeal.

Former deputy postmaster Patricia Owen’s conviction for theft in 1998 was based on evidence from Capture, an IT system used before the now discredited Horizon software.

Capture software was widely used in Post Office branches in the 1990s, years before Horizon was introduced.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) today confirmed that Ms Owen’s case, in which she was convicted of five counts of theft, was referred to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the prosecution was an abuse of process.

Ms Owen denied all five charges after being left £6,000 short at the Broad Oak Post Office branch in Sweechgate, Canterbury.

Unfortunately, Mrs Owen died in April 2003 and the application to the CCRC was made by family members in January 2024.

The CCRC says it received 34 applications from families of assistant postmasters convicted of stealing from businesses before the use of Horizon accounting software.

Four of these cases were determined by a committee of three Commissioners to avoid raising any real possibility of the conviction being overturned, but the other 29 cases are still under review.

Before Horizon, the Post Office used Capture software in many of its branches in the 1990s.

Ms Owen’s case was the first to be referred to the Court of Appeal to consider whether her conviction was unsafe and should therefore be overturned, in what lawyers acting for the family described as “a truly pivotal moment”.

CCRC Chairperson Dame Vera Baird KC said: ‘We have more than 30 references to Post Office convictions dating back to before Horizon, and many of these cases are under active investigation. Some of these very old cases are missing paperwork, dates or other information.

‘We have used our powers under section 17 of the Criminal Appeals Act 1995 to require the Post Office to provide all materials in its possession in all cases and they will provide these wherever possible.’

More than 900 deputy postmasters were wrongfully sued between 1999 and 2015 due to errors in the Horizon system.

Glitches in the software caused the money to appear as if it did not exist even though it was in the branch accounts.

The shocking miscarriage of justice was brought to the fore again in ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office; but a fierce debate continues today over the compensation to be given to those affected.

The popularity of the series also led subpostmasters to notice similarities between the Horizon and Capture systems and fear that they too might have been wrongly convicted in a court of law.

One such man was Steve Marston, 68, who pleaded guilty to theft and false accounting in 1998 after a £79,000 deficiency was discovered at his branch in Greater Manchester.

Steve Marston, 68, also believes he was wrongly convicted for errors caused by Capture

He now believes that he was wrongfully convicted for the mistakes caused by the Capture.

He had previously met Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake and his lawyer representing more than 30 people convicted of alleged Capture accounting errors.

Mr Marston said he was ‘very moved’ and ‘extremely happy’ by a meeting with Mr Hollinrake at the time, where he presented a copy of the original Capture software and claimed it was ‘conclusive evidence’ of wrongful convictions.

Campaigners are understood to have uncovered floppy disks containing software. Mr Martson claims it shows errors in the system can lead to false omissions and believes the Capture evidence was used to prosecute him.

Neil Hudgell, the former postmasters’ lawyer, said it was an ‘important meeting’ with Mr Hollinrake.

Labor MP Kevan Jones, defending postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal, said he knew of ‘five or six’ potential victims of Capture.

Mr Jones said one of the cases was a ‘mirror image’ of ‘what the Post Office did with the Horizon victims’.

The Post Office was instructed to investigate allegations about the Capture in January.

Barrister Neil Hudgell said: ‘This is a really important moment for people affected by Capture because this is the first conviction to be formally referred to the Court of Appeal.

‘What is more important is that this is being done with evidence that clearly shows people are being tried without all the facts available and without evidence that would likely prevent them from being convicted.

‘The first step now is to take Ms Owen’s case to the Court of Appeal and see her conviction overturned.

‘In light of the new evidence now available to us, we hope that we can open the door to clearing the names of anyone else prosecuted through Capture-based evidence, as was the case with Horizon.’

The Post Office has been contacted for comment.