No major changes were found in the report published last month as a result of a review of soon evidence submitted to investigators looking at the Post Office’s pre-horizontal capture system.
The government ordered a look into the Capture system to find out if subpostmasters had been unfairly held accountable and tried for accounting system errors.
This followed original subpostmasters who came forward in January after the airing of ITV’s dramatization of the Post Office Horizon scandal, and who had previously reported stories that were affected by the Horizon system errors.
In its report, criminal investigation firm Kroll concluded there was a “reasonable likelihood” that Capture had caused accounting shortfalls for which the users were blamed and, in some cases, prosecuted.
However, as Computer Weekly reported, the investigation was hampered by the late provision of information, which was simply made available the day the report was expected to be presented to the government and was unable to be included. The late datasets included casework spreadsheets and summaries of documentation that had been sought by the Post Office since the mid-1980s, as well as back tapes and servers from the Post Office’s previous finance headquarters in Chesterfield, according to a government-commissioned report.
Kroll has since reviewed the datasets and updated its report in an addendum, which found that the conclusions in the report had not changed based on more analysis. No important or significant changes were made as a result of this review, it said.
The Capture controversy is the most recent section of the larger post office scandal, which was exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009 and involved thousands of subpostmasters being falsely convicted and also tried for account fraud, which was afterwards demonstrated to be the result of the error-prone Horizon IT system.
In January this year, next MP Kevan Jones, who now sits in the House of Lords,  , noted evidence of injustices , caused by the Capture computer system used in Post Office branches prior to the introduction of Horizon. This followed past subpostmasters who came forth after watching the documentary on ITV, including one about the issues they had with using the Capture system and the serious harm they suffered.
More than 70 people who have turned to Hudgell Solicitors for assistance after experiencing unfounded losses in their branch accounts in the 1990s have received advice from the firm.
Neil Hudgell, lawyer at the firm said the supplemental report “adds further detail, it does n’t detract from the main findings, and simply reinforces them”. Hudgell added that firmer subpostmasters who experienced the life-changing effects of capture issues need a “quick and powerful” solution.
Steve Marston is one of the original subpostmasters who has stepped forward. He had a branch in Bury, Lancashire, and was prosecuted in 1996 for theft and fake accounting following an unexpected shortfall of roughly £80, 000. Before his branch, which he ran from 1973, started using Capture, he claimed he not had any issues with using the paper-based accounting system.
” We provided most of the evidence that was used,” Marston said,” It is no surprise the additional information has not changed the report.” We want a quick resolution to this situation because time is not on our side then that the entire details are available to the government. The latest administration cannot afford to drag its heels on this like the previous administration did with the Horizon scandal.
Capture was a PC-based application , developed by the Post Office and installed on a specific computer to carry out branch accounts. The software – referred to by some users as a “glorified spreadsheet” – was a standalone system, unlike Horizon which is a complex, interconnected system connected to central services.
In December, the government will make its future moves public.
Rupert Lloyds Thomas, a former Post Office executive who has  , campaigned for original users of Capture, told Computer Weekly:” Two things need to happen. The Criminal Cases Review Commission must be given the opportunity to discuss the scheme for redress and the government must release an announcement about what the new redress scheme will look like.
The Post Office scandal, which was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealed the accounts of seven subpostmasters and the issues they encountered as a result of Horizon accounting software, which caused the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history ( see below list of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal since 2009 ).
• Even read:  , What you need to know about the Horizon scandal , •
• Even watch:  , ITV’s documentary – , Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The true story , •
• Even read:  , Post Office and Fujitsu malevolence and incompetence means big taxpayers ‘ bill , •
