Post Office Capture: What we know so far of claims of second IT scandal

The Post Office is under growing pressure to answer claims a second IT scandal led to the wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters in the 1990s, prior to the Horizon scandal.

Former sub-postmasters have told i that the accounting software, called Capture, was error-prone and caused shortfalls when they went to balance their books.

Staff bulletins from the mid-90s have revealed that the Post Office knew the software had “faults” before pursuing prosecutions against sub-postmasters.

In light of the claims surrounding the Capture software, first revealed by i, the Government has ordered the Post Office to look into cases where sub-postmasters may have been wrongly pursued over losses recorded by Capture and other systems that pre-date Horizon, to establish “if there are issues with any other systems currently or previously used by Post Office”.

With the Post Office vowing to publish its findings regarding the allegations of a second IT scandal, here’s what we know so far.

What was Capture?

Capture is a piece of accounting software that was installed in Post Office branches across the UK in 1995, years before the Horizon software was introduced.

It was replaced by the Horizon system in 1999, the faulty system was responsible for the wrongful prosecutions of more than 900 sub-postmasters.

Many of those prosecuted faced prison time and several victims have taken their own lives, while less than 100 convictions have been overturned to date.

Having previously balanced accounts using paper ledgers, sub-postmasters say they were encouraged to adopt the Capture system by the Post Office.

It is still unclear who designed Capture, and the Post Office has so far declined to comment on questions about its implementation.

Who are the sub-postmasters who believe they were wrongly accused?

A number of former sub-postmasters have said they believe they were wrongly blamed for losses recorded by Capture.

Steve Marston, 67, said the Capture system was responsible for a shortfall of £79,000 at his branch in Greater Manchester between September 1995 and September 1996.

Mr Marston was placed under investigation and convicted after pleading guilty to five charges of theft, false accounting and concealing valuable securities in a Post Office prosecution in 1998. He said he pleaded guilty to avoid being sent to prison.

The investigation into Mr Marston, who insists he didn’t steal “a penny”, was launched just over a year after staff bulletins sent out to sub-postmasters revealed bosses admitting Capture was experiencing a number of faults.

Mr Marston said: “I didn’t [make a mistake] so it must have been the computer. And they knew, that’s what is the worst, they knew in the Post Office.”

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He is in the process of applying to the Criminal Cases Review Commission for permission to appeal his conviction.

After reading about Mr Marston’s case last week, Steve Lewis, from Ebbw Vale, South Wales, contacted i over his dismissal over financial shortfalls.

He claimed he was forced to put £40,000 of his own money into his branch to cover financial shortfalls reported by the Capture system between 1997 and 2000, before being suspended and later sacked over a £2,500 loss flagged by auditors as he was moved onto the Horizon system.

It is understood Mr Lewis was among thousands of former sub-postmasters proactively contacted by the Post Office as far back as 2020 to invite applications for compensation if they believe they suffered financial losses “related to previous versions of Horizon”.

Two more former sub-postmasters, Jon Gregory and Sandra Brocklehurst, have also told i about allegedly having problems with Capture which led to financial shortfalls.

Mr Gregory, who ran a Post Office branch with his wife in Sherfield-on-Loddon in Hampshire, said he was interviewed under caution after being suspected of stealing money at his branch but no further action was taken after he produced his own duplicate paper records.

He added that he recalls feeling pressured into buying the software by the Post Office in the mid-90s.

Ms Brocklehurst, a former sub-postmaster in Somerset who also acted as a branch secretary for the National Federation of Sub-postmasters, also remembers having problems with Capture in the 1990s.

“It worked perfectly fine in my first branch, a small office, but when we transferred to an ex mains office the first balance was £249 up and we couldn’t understand why,” she said.

Explaining that she believes she later worked out – and told Post Office management – that the fault lay with Capture being unable to accurately calculate pension allowances, Ms Brocklehurst added: “They never rectified that glitch in Capture – it was a question of you having to remember. It was faulty.”

Labour MP Kevan Jones, who has campaigned for victims of the Post Office scandal for many years, said he had been in contact with several more potential victims whose cases pre-date Horizon.

“They all have the same story,” Mr Jones said. “But this can’t be Horizon because the dates don’t match.

“The Post Office needs to come clean – how many of these prosecutions were there and why hasn’t it come to light before?

“This is another scandal, frankly.”

Who else has raised concerns?

The Department for Business and Trade, which is the sole owner of Post Office Ltd, told i it had ordered the Post Office to investigate “if there are issues with any other systems currently or previously used by Post Office”.

Conservative Lord and former MP James Arbuthnot, who has campaigned on behalf of Horizon victims, told i he believes the appeals of sub-postmasters who may have been wrongly convicted under Capture should be fast-tracked through the courts, as it is “unlikely” they could be dealt with under the Horizon scheme.

Lord Arbuthnot said: “I don’t know if it would be a question of starting from scratch.

“But I think it’s unlikely it would be possible to encompass earlier cases on a different computer system with the legislation the Government is drafting right now.

“It is more likely that the CCRC and the Court of Appeal would bend over backwards to be sympathetic to cases coming forward, because they would have the example of the failures of the court system in the Horizon scandal.”

Dr Neil Hudgell, a leading solicitor who is representing former sub-postmasters, told i he is “seeking clarity” from the Government as to whether they are extending compensation schemes to “pre Horizon periods including Capture, and possibly beyond.”

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Victims of the Horizon scandal have meanwhile reacted with anger to the revelation that the Post Office may have been wrongfully convicting sub-postmasters as a result of earlier IT systems like Capture.

Seema Misra, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison after being falsely accused of stealing £74,000 at her branch in West Byfleet, Surrey in 2010 under the Horizon, said she felt “speechless”.

“It’s scandal after scandal, scandal within scandal,” Ms Misra, 48, told i.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – the only body which is able to send cases to the Court of Appeal – referred the first 39 Horizon cases in 2020 and they were quashed in April 2021.

It is understood that the CCRC is currently examining around 40 Post Office cases for potential referral to the Court of Appeal – a process taking about 12 months.

A spokesperson for the CCRC said: “If anyone feels they may have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice, we would urge them to come to us as soon as possible.”

What has the Post Office said?

The Post Office said it was taking claims that the sub-postmasters scandal extends beyond Horizon “very seriously” and that it would “assist” anyone who comes forward.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “In 2020, we wrote to all current and former postmasters where we had contact details about the launch of the Horizon Shortfall Scheme. More than 25,000 letters were sent and we also advertised the scheme in national newspapers.

“We take very seriously any concerns raised about cases from before the Horizon system was first rolled out in 1999. We are investigating, including specific cases brought to our attention and will transparently publish our findings.”

Do you believe you were wrongly convicted by the Post Office before the Horizon scandal? Contact [email protected]