Post Office designed Capture IT system linked to claims of wrongful convictions
The Post Office designed a second IT system linked to claims of wrongful convictions that predate the Horizon scandal, i can reveal.
Capture, a form of back-office accounting software, was first rolled out to branches in 1992 with the Post Office promising it would “simplify the task of keeping accounts”.
However, multiple former sub-postmasters have come forward to tell i they experienced unexplained shortfalls while using Capture.
In some cases, echoing the experience of Horizon scandal victims, some people were prosecuted for those shortfalls. But they maintain their innocence and claim that in cases where they pleaded guilty to fraud or theft charges, they did so to avoid jail terms.
Since i first revealed serious concerns about Capture last month, the Post Office has repeatedly refused to clarify who designed the software.
Now newly-unearthed newspaper reports, shared with i and backed up by former IT specialists who worked at the Post Office, show that Capture was developed in-house by the Post Office.
The cuttings reveal that Capture was sold as a package to sub-postmasters for £1,250 plus VAT.
The Government told i it is in active discussion with the Post Office about the Capture system issue and is taking it very seriously.
In an article published in the Gloucestershire Echo in the early 90s, a senior Post Office employee behind the Capture system is quoted as saying: “It has proved a great success with sub-postmasters. We’ve already had orders for 500 – double the number we estimated.
“The system eliminates the drudgery of preparing accounts by hand and means staff can devote their energies and attention to their customers.”
Another article in the Cheddar Valley Gazette from the same year, announces the roll-out of Capture at Post Office sites in the area.
“The new computing system, known as Capture, has been specially developed by the business for sub-postmasters – the men and women who run local post offices – to simplify their task of keeping sub-post office accounts, which can be tedious and repetitive,” the article states.
In the wake of renewed interest in the Post Office in recent weeks, sparked by ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, i has spoken to several former sub-postmasters who used Capture and claim they were wrongly pursued by Post Office investigators for missing money, sacked or even criminally prosecuted.
Kevan Jones, the Labour MP who has campaigned for Horizon victims, told i he is now in touch with at least ten cases which predate Horizon and questioned why the Post Office has not come clean about what appears to be a “second scandal” before.
The Post Office has said it is taking the claims relating to Capture “very seriously” and is investigating potential miscarriages of justice involving the IT system but has answered few questions to date, including who designed the software.
Japanese tech giant Fujitsu, which developed the Horizon system, has apologised for its failings and promised to contribute to an estimated £1bn compensation bill.
Rupert Lloyd Thomas, a former IT specialist at the Post Office for 27 years before he retired in 2001, discovered the newspaper reports and told i he remembers Capture being rolled out.
He claims he had widespread concerns about IT systems used by the Post Office during his time as an employee, including both Capture and Horizon.
He has given a witness statement to the ongoing public inquiry into the Horizon scandal in which he said the Post Office had a “dreadful track record” with developing software.
“Nothing that is coming out [about Capture] is a surprise to me,” Mr Thomas said.
“There’s a long list of reasons why Capture may have malfunctioned, it may not even have been a fault with the software.
“It doesn’t really matter, what matters is a lot of people paid a horrible price.”
He added: “I was very concerned about all the different computer systems. I wrote a memo in the 90s about some of the systems and some of the decision making around that. Most of which I was unhappy about.
“I felt no one else was listening.”
Former sub-postmaster Steve Marston, 67, was prosecuted by the Post Office for theft and false accounting offences in 1998 after suffering unexplained Capture shortfalls.
He pleaded guilty believing it was the only way to avoid going to prison but has always maintained his innocence.
In 2020, Mr Marston submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Post Office asking how many sub-postmasters had been prosecuted while using Capture software and received a response saying the Post Office “does not hold” such information.
He described i‘s latest discovery as “super interesting”.
“If Capture was so good, why have they been making it so difficult to find out who developed it?” Mr Marston said. “The Post Office has known about this [system] but it’s like Horizon, they are terrified of the consequences.”
Other sub-postmasters to have come forward include Steve Lewis, who claims he was sacked because of Capture shortfalls in South Wales, Mary Fisher who claims she was dismissed while battling breast cancer, and the family of Liz Roberts who claim she was wrongly sent to prison in 1999.
Mr Jones, MP for North Durham, said he believes the latest evidence obtained by i suggests the scale of the Post Office scandal could be even larger than he first thought.
“This revelation clearly shows that Capture was a large system and the Post Office need to come clean as a matter of urgency as to how many sub-postmasters were involved and how many were prosecuted,” he added.
A former senior Post Office employee involved in the design of Capture confirmed to i that it was developed “in house”.
He denied any knowledge of problems with the software, or prosecutions linked to it.
A Government spokesperson said: “The Department for Business and Trade is in active discussion with the Post Office about the Capture system issue and are taking it very seriously.
“If there is evidence that this system led to improper accusations, the Government will not hesitate in taking robust action.”
The Post Office did not respond to a request for further comment.
A spokesperson said last month: “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.”