Karl Flinders
Post Office scandal in 2024 – part 2: Capture, the prequel
Users of the Post Office’s Capture system had similar experiences to those who struggled with the Horizon system, which came later, but their stories are only just coming out now
Years before the controversial Horizon system was introduced in 1999, subpostmasters who used a Post Office system known as Capture suffered unexplained branch account shortfalls and the consequences that brought.
These subpostmasters, now elderly people, for years didn’t even realise that their losses could have been caused by software errors. Some were convicted of financial crimes and others were financially ruined.
It wasn’t until ITV’s dramatisation of the Post Office Horizon scandal, in January this year, that the nation woke up. Former Capture users saw similarities to how they had been treated, and following the intervention of peer Kevan Jones, then MP for North Durham and long-time campaigner for justice for subpostmasters, a second campaign was born.
Because of the nearly two decades of campaigning done by former Horizon users, led by Sir Alan Bates, the smaller numbers of affected people and immediate media attention, it was a campaign that moved quickly.
Here are 10 stories on how the Capture campaign unfolded in 2024.
January: MP demands answers from government minister over second faulty Post Office IT system
Soon after the ITV dramatisation of subpostmaster suffering, Kevan Jones – who, as an MP and now a peer, campaigned for subpostmasters affected by the Horizon problems for over a decade and a half – began looking for answers to why subpostmasters were blamed for unexplained shortfalls that occurred when using software known as Capture.
February: More than 1,000 subpostmasters could have used second faulty Post Office system
Rupert Lloyd Thomas, an IT expert who worked at the Post Office for 27 years, said that if the high hundreds of (possibly more than 1,000) PCs with Capture installed were sent to subpostmasters by Unisys from 1995, it could have been much more widely used.
March: Government taking Post Office Capture allegations seriously as former subpostmasters seek answers
Two former subpostmasters, whose lives were turned upside down after they suffered unexplained losses while using Capture, secure meetings with a government minister and a senior civil servant at the Department for Business and Trade.
April: Expert investigating Capture system refuses to meet ‘untrustworthy’ Post Office
Campaigner says he will not work with the Post Office, due to a lack of trust. “There are people that are tainted by the Post Office still working there and I won’t work with them because they are untrustworthy,” he said.
May: Government appoints investigators to analyse Post Office Capture software used before Horizon
The government brings in specialist investigators, Kroll, to examine whether the Post Capture software may have also caused subpostmasters to have been wrongly prosecuted.
June: Post Office Capture software training deficit echoes systemic Horizon problems
More echoes with the Horizon problems as former subpostmasters, who encountered serious problems with Capture, reveal they received no training.
September: More parallels between Post Office Capture and Horizon scandal revealed
Data on Post Office prosecutions reveals worrying similarities in how the Post Office treated Horizon and Capture users who suffered unexplained losses.
September: Investigation finds ‘reasonable likelihood’ Post Office Capture software caused accounting losses
Analysis by specialist forensic investigators concludes there is a “reasonable likelihood” that the Capture system caused accounting shortfalls for which the users were blamed and, in some cases, prosecuted.
October: Government ‘urged’ to overturn all convictions based on Post Office Capture
The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board has written to the secretary of state for justice urging the government to legislate to overturn convictions of subpostmasters based on the error-prone Capture system.
November: Convictions of Post Office Capture system users to be reviewed by statutory body
The Criminal Convictions Review Commission (CCRC) is reviewing cases of potential wrongful convictions where Post Office’s Capture branch software could be a factor and could add further cases.
Also read part 1: Post Office scandal in 2024: A year in the mainstream
Read more on IT for retail and logistics
-
![]()
Post Office Capture users invited to pivotal meeting with government
By: Karl Flinders
-
![]()
Post Office scandal: How much deeper and wider can it get?
By: Karl Flinders
-
![]()
Convictions of Post Office Capture system users to be reviewed by statutory body
By: Karl Flinders
-
![]()
Government ‘urged’ to overturn all convictions based on Post Office Capture
By: Karl Flinders
