Progress made on government’s Post Office Capture redress, but concerns remain

Former subpostmasters who suffered after being blamed for errors in the Post Office’s pre-Horizon software have said progress is being made in redressing their grievances, but there are concerns claims will not be considered in the same way as former Horizon users.

The department for business and trade (DBT) held its latest meeting with former users of the Post Office’s Capture software who suffered the life-changing impact of its faults as part of the Post Office scandal. Victims have been told they will receive a “recognition payment” in advance of full settlements, which could be worth £10,000.

Capture software was used in Post Office branches in the 1990s to replace paper-based accounting. Like with the controversial Horizon system, subpostmasters were blamed for unexplained losses, with some prosecuted for financial crimes.

The controversy over the Capture system emerged in January last year after the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office told the stories of subpostmasters who had suffered at the hands of the Horizon system.

It was the same month that Kevan Jones, an MP at the time who now sits in the House of Lords, highlighted evidence of injustices caused by the Capture computer system used in Post Office branches prior to the introduction of Horizon.

This triggered a campaign and by December the government promised financial redress and justice for subpostmasters affected by Capture problems. This followed an independent investigation by forensic experts at Kroll, which found there was a “reasonable likelihood” the Post Office Capture software caused accounting losses.

In February, the Post Office made its first official apology to a subpostmaster who used its faulty Capture system. The Criminal Cases Review Commission is reviewing 28 cases of potential wrongful conviction where Capture could be a factor.

After the latest meeting in Whitehall this week (30 April), Steve Marston, a former Capture user and campaigner told Computer Weekly there has been a lot of progress in developing a financial redress scheme, but added that there were concerns among victims.

“The department is trying to put together the scheme, which should make things a lot easier,” said Marston. “But the thing that slightly worries me is the fact that, as far as the payments are concerned, for the victims, are they going to match up with what Horizon victims got or is it going to be less?”

Capture users who experience unexplained shortfalls were treated the same way as those who suffered at the hands of the Horizon system – blamed for unexplained account shortfalls and made to pay them back, with many losing their businesses and some even convicted of financial crimes.

The slow progress is also a major concern, as the suffering of Capture system victims pre-dates that of Horizon victims and many are very elderly.

Marston said: “To the government, I would say you’ve got to recognise that there’s two people seriously ill in hospital tonight. God willing, they’ll pull through, but at least try to do the best you can as quickly as you can to help these people. None of us know how long. You know, we just want people to see recognition as soon as possible.”

The CCRC is currently reviewing Marston’s conviction for theft in 1996. He had a branch in Bury, Lancashire, and was prosecuted after an unexplained shortfall of nearly £80,000. Marston said he never had any problems using the paper-based accounting system until his branch, which he ran from 1973, began using Capture in the early 1990s.

The Post Office scandal was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to accounting software. It is one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history (see below for timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal, since 2009).