Latest news with #HorizonScandal
Sky News
15 hours ago
- Sky News
Could there be another Post Office scandal?
👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈 The Horizon scandal gained international exposure after the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office. And now, more faulty Post Office accounting software has been uncovered, in what some are calling a second Post Office scandal. Today, the government has announced details of a compensation scheme for postmasters who suffered through using Capture in the 1990s. In today's episode, Sarah-Jane Mee is joined by news correspondent Adele Robinson, who has unearthed new evidence to show the system was faulty and speaks to families devastated by the scandal.
Sky News
20 hours ago
- Business
- Sky News
Post Office scandal: Compensation scheme for Capture victims announced
The government has announced a compensation scheme for postmasters who suffered financial shortfalls due to a faulty Post Office IT system that preceded the Horizon scandal. The Capture software was a faulty computer system used by postmasters in more than 2,000 branches in the 1990s. It comes as Sky News revealed that a damning report into the system has been unearthed after nearly 30 years and could help overturn criminal convictions. 1:49 In a statement, the government said it would "provide fair compensation" for those who suffered financial shortfalls due to the Capture software between 1992 and 2000. The scheme is expected to open for applications in Autumn 2025 and will have an "initial phased rollout" for 150 claimants to ensure the process is "fair, proportionate and accessible before wider implementation". Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said: "We are committed to delivering fair and swift redress for all postmasters affected by Post Office software failures. "Today's announcement represents another important step in righting the wrongs of the past and rebuilding trust in the Post Office." 11:28 The government said all eligible claims will be reviewed by an independent panel of experts operating entirely separately from the government. It said the panel will take a holistic view of each claim, avoiding drawn-out legal processes and providing fair redress even where evidence is low. It will also use a balance of probabilities standard of proof, recommend appropriate payment levels and provide claimants the right to appeal in certain circumstances.
Sky News
a day ago
- Sky News
Post Office scandal: 'Hugely significant' evidence unearthed in computer expert's garage
A damning report into the faulty Post Office IT system that preceded Horizon has been unearthed after nearly 30 years - and it could help overturn criminal convictions. The document, known about by the Post Office in 1998, is described as "hugely significant" and a "fundamental piece of evidence" and was found in a garage by a retired computer expert. Capture was a piece of accounting software, likely to have caused errors, used in more than 2,000 branches between 1992 and 1999. It came before the infamous faulty Horizon software scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongfully convicted between 1999 and 2015. 1:49 The "lost long" Capture documents were discovered in a garage by a retired computer expert who came forward after a Sky News report into the case of Patricia Owen, a convicted sub-postmistress who used the software. Adrian Montagu was supposed to be a key witness for Pat's defence at her trial in 1998 but her family always believed he had never turned up, despite his computer "just sitting there" in court. Mr Montagu, however, insists he did attend. He describes being in the courtroom and adds that "at some point into the trial" he was stood down by the barrister for Mrs Owen with "no reason" given. Sky News has seen contemporaneous notes proving Mr Montagu did go to Canterbury Crown Court for the first one or two days of the trial in June 1998. "I went to the court and I set up a computer with a big old screen," he says. "I remember being there, I remember the judge introducing everybody very properly…but the barrister in question for the defence, he went along and said 'I am not going to need you so you don't need to be here any more'. "I wasn't asked back." Sky News has reached out to the barrister in Pat Owen's case who said he had no recollection of it. 'An accident waiting to happen' The report, commissioned by the defence and written by Adrian Montagu and his colleague, describes Capture as "an accident waiting to happen", and "totally discredited". It concludes that "reasonable doubt exists as to whether any criminal offence has taken place". It also states that the software "is quite capable of producing absurd gibberish", and describes "several insidious faults…which would not be necessarily apparent to the user". All of which produced "arithmetical or accounting errors". Sky News has also seen documents suggesting the jury in Pat Owen's case may never have seen the report. What is clear is that they did not hear evidence from its author including his planned "demonstration" of how Capture could produce accounting errors. Pat Owen was convicted of stealing from her Post Office branch in 1998 and given a suspended prison sentence. Her family describe how it "wrecked" her life, contributing towards her ill health, and she died in 2003 before the wider Post Office scandal came to light. Her daughter Juliet said her mother fought with "everything she could". "To know that in the background there was Adrian with this (report) that would have changed everything, not just for mum but for every Capture victim after that, I think is shocking and really upsetting - really, really upsetting." The report itself was served on the Post Office lawyers - who continued to prosecute sub-postmasters in the months and years after Pat Owen's trial. 'My blood is boiling' 3:09 Steve Marston, who used the Capture software in his branch, was one of them - he was convicted of stealing nearly £80,000 in September 1998. His prosecution took place four months after the Capture report had been served on the Post Office. Steve says he was persuaded to plead guilty with the "threat of jail" hanging over him and received a suspended sentence. He describes the discovery of the report as "incredible" and says his "blood is boiling" and he feels "betrayed". "So they knew that the software was faulty?," he says. "It's in black and white isn't it? And yet they still pressed on doing what they did. "They used Capture evidence … as the evidence to get me to plead guilty to avoid jail. "They kept telling us it was safe…They knew the software should never have been used in 1998, didn't they?" Steve says his family's lives were destroyed and the knowledge of this report could have "changed everything". He says he would have fought the case "instead of giving in". "How dare they. And no doubt I certainly wasn't the last one…And yet they knew they were convicting people with faulty software, faulty computers." The report is now with the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the body investigating potential miscarriages of justice, which is currently looking into 28 Capture cases. A fundamental piece of evidence Neil Hudgell, the lawyer representing more than 100 victims, describes the report as "hugely significant", "seismic" and a "fundamental piece of evidence". "I'm as confident as I can be that this is a good day for families like Steve Marston and Mrs Owen's family," he says. "I think (the documents) could be very pivotal in delivering the exoneration that they very badly deserve." He also added that "there's absolutely no doubt" that the "entire contents" of the "damning" report "was under the noses of the Post Office at a very early stage". He describes it as a "massive missed opportunity" and "early red flag" for the Post Office which went on to prosecute hundreds who used Horizon in the years that followed. "It is a continuation of a theme that obviously has rolled out over the subsequent 20 plus years in relation to Horizon," he says. "...if this had seen the light of day in its proper sense, and poor Mrs Owen had not been convicted, the domino effect of what followed may not have happened." What the Post Office said Sky News approached the former Chief Executive of the Post Office during the Capture years, John Roberts, who said: "I can't recall any discussion at my level, or that of the board, about Capture at any time while I was CEO." A statement from the Post Office said: "We have been very concerned about the reported problems relating to the use of the Capture software and are sincerely sorry for past failings that have caused suffering to postmasters. "We are determined that past wrongs are put right and are continuing to support the government's work and fully co-operating with the Criminal Cases Review Commission as it investigates several cases which may be Capture related." A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: "Postmasters including Patricia Owen endured immeasurable suffering, and we continue to listen to those who have been sharing their stories on the Capture system. "Government officials met with postmasters recently as part of our commitment to develop an effective and fair redress process for those affected by Capture, and we will continue to keep them updated."
Sky News
a day ago
- Sky News
Crucial evidence in Post Office scandal found in garage of retired computer expert after 30 years
A damning report into the faulty Post Office IT system that proceeded Horizon has been unearthed after nearly 30 years - and it could help overturn criminal convictions. The document, known about by the Post Office in 1998, is described as "hugely significant" and a "fundamental piece of evidence" and was found in a garage by a retired computer expert. Capture was a piece of accounting software, likely to have caused errors, used in more than 2,000 branches between 1992 and 1999. It came before the infamous faulty Horizon software scandal, which saw hundreds of sub postmasters wrongfully convicted between 1999 and 2015. 1:49 The 'lost long' Capture documents were discovered in a garage by a retired computer expert who came forward after a Sky News report into the case of Patricia Owen, a convicted sub postmistress who used the software. Adrian Montagu was supposed to be a key witness for Pat's defence at her trial in 1998 but her family always believed he had never turned up, despite his computer "just sitting there" in court. Mr Montagu, however, insists he did attend. He describes being in the courtroom and adds that "at some point into the trial" he was stood down by the barrister for Mrs Owen with "no reason" given. Sky News has seen contemporaneous notes proving Mr Montagu did go to Canterbury Crown Court for the first one or two days of the trial in June 1998. "I went to the court and I set up a computer with a big old screen," he says. "I remember being there, I remember the judge introducing everybody very properly…but the barrister in question for the defence, he went along and said 'I am not going to need you so you don't need to be here any more'. "I wasn't asked back." Sky News has reached out to the barrister in Pat Owen's case who said he had no recollection of it. 'An accident waiting to happen' The report, commissioned by the defence and written by Adrian Montagu and his colleague, describes Capture as "an accident waiting to happen", and "totally discredited". It concludes that "reasonable doubt exists as to whether any criminal offence has taken place". It also states that the software "is quite capable of producing absurd gibberish", and describes "several insidious faults…which would not be necessarily apparent to the user". All of which produced "arithmetical or accounting errors". Sky News has also seen documents suggesting the jury in Pat Owen's case may never have seen the report. What is clear is that they did not hear evidence from its author including his planned "demonstration" of how Capture could produce accounting errors. Pat Owen was convicted of stealing from her Post Office branch in 1998 and given a suspended prison sentence. Her family describe how it "wrecked" her life, contributing towards her ill health, and she died in 2003 before the wider Post Office scandal came to light. Her daughter Juliet said her mother fought with "everything she could". "To know that in the background there was Adrian with this (report) that would have changed everything, not just for mum but for every Capture victim after that, I think is shocking and really upsetting - really, really upsetting." The report itself was served on the Post Office lawyers - who continued to prosecute sub postmasters in the months and years after Pat Owen's trial. 'My blood is boiling' 3:09 Steve Marston, who used the Capture software in his branch, was one of them - he was convicted of stealing nearly £80,000 in September 1998. His prosecution took place four months after the Capture report had been served on the Post Office. Steve says he was persuaded to plead guilty with the "threat of jail" hanging over him and received a suspended sentence. He describes the discovery of the report as "incredible" and says his "blood is boiling" and he feels "betrayed". "So they knew that the software was faulty?," he says. "It's in black and white isn't it? And yet they still pressed on doing what they did. "They used Capture evidence … as the evidence to get me to plead guilty to avoid jail. "They kept telling us it was safe…They knew the software should never have been used in 1998, didn't they?" Steve says his family's lives were destroyed and the knowledge of this report could have "changed everything". He says he would have fought the case "instead of giving in". "How dare they. And no doubt I certainly wasn't the last one…And yet they knew they were convicting people with faulty software, faulty computers." The report is now with the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the body investigating potential miscarriages of justice, which is currently looking into 28 Capture cases. A fundamental piece of evidence Neil Hudgell, the lawyer representing more than 100 victims, describes the report as "hugely significant", "seismic" and a "fundamental piece of evidence". "I'm as confident as I can be that this is a good day for families like Steve Marston and Mrs Owen's family," he says. "I think (the documents) could be very pivotal in delivering the exoneration that they very badly deserve." He also added that "there's absolutely no doubt" that the "entire contents" of the "damning" report "was under the noses of the Post Office at a very early stage". He describes it as a "massive missed opportunity" and "early red flag" for the Post Office which went on to prosecute hundreds who used Horizon in the years that followed. "It is a continuation of a theme that obviously has rolled out over the subsequent 20 plus years in relation to Horizon," he says. "...if this had seen the light of day in its proper sense, and poor Mrs Owen had not been convicted, the domino effect of what followed may not have happened." What the Post Office said Sky News approached the former Chief Executive of the Post Office during the Capture years, John Roberts, who said: "I can't recall any discussion at my level, or that of the board, about Capture at any time while I was CEO." A statement from the Post Office said: "We have been very concerned about the reported problems relating to the use of the Capture software and are sincerely sorry for past failings that have caused suffering to postmasters. "We are determined that past wrongs are put right and are continuing to support the government's work and fully co-operating with the Criminal Cases Review Commission as it investigates several cases which may be Capture related." A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: "Postmasters including Patricia Owen endured immeasurable suffering, and we continue to listen to those who have been sharing their stories on the Capture system. "Government officials met with postmasters recently as part of our commitment to develop an effective and fair redress process for those affected by Capture, and we will continue to keep them updated."
The Herald Scotland
10-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
£1bn compensation paid to victims of Post Office scandal
The announcement comes just weeks after lead campaigner and former subpostmaster Sir Alan Bates said the schemes had 'turned into quasi-kangaroo courts'. Sir Alan told the Sunday Times last month that DBT 'sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses'. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. Many are still awaiting compensation. In figures published on Monday, DBT said £559 million has been paid out to 6,337 claimants from the Horizon shortfall scheme. The data also says that of the 492 subpostmasters who joined Sir Alan Bates in taking the Post Office to court between 2017 and 2019, who have not been convicted, also known as the Group Litigation Order Scheme (GLO), 488 have received £167 million between them. Elsewhere, £245 million has been paid out to 463 subpostmasters who had their convictions quashed by legislation put in place last summer, and £68 million has been paid to those who have had their convictions quashed in the courts, DBT said. £1bn of financial redress has now been paid out to Post Office Horizon Scandal victims, more than quadruple the amount paid out up to July 2024. There is still more to do. The work continues at pace to ensure every victim gets the redress they are due: — Department for Business and Trade (@biztradegovuk) June 9, 2025 Post Office minister Gareth Thomas said: 'Since entering Government, it has been our priority to speed up the delivery of compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal and today's milestone shows how much progress has been made. 'We are settling cases every day and getting compensation out more quickly for the most complex cases, but the job isn't done until every postmaster has received fair and just redress.' Post Office chief executive Neil Brocklehurst said: 'I welcome the news that over £1 billion has been paid to victims of the Horizon IT Scandal. 'This drama has reached people in a way that drama rarely does… And that speaks volumes of the injustice.' Toby Jones, who stars in the ITV drama about the Post Office Horizon scandal, tells #BBCPM the reaction has been 'quite unlike anything else'. — BBC Radio 4 PM (@BBCPM) January 8, 2024 'Each week we are seeing more people receive their final settlements so they can begin to look beyond this painful chapter of their lives. 'However, I am also aware that more work remains to be done so that all victims receive full redress as quickly as possible and this is an absolute priority for the Post Office. 'And finally, to anyone else who thinks they may have been affected, I encourage you to come forward and apply for redress.' The news comes after a report, which found that survivors of the Post Office Horizon scandal have experienced deep trauma. Academics have shown how deeply lives have and continue to be affected by the scandal, which hit the public consciousness following the broadcast of the Bafta-winning ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. The study reveals how the trauma of the Post Office's misconduct has rippled out through victims' families' lives and how many have been re-victimised at each stage of their fight for justice. The research from the University of Exeter and UCL lays bare how the stigma of false accusation and financial ruin devastated the lives of subpostmasters and those close to them. The report, by Dr Sally Day, Professor Richard Moorhead and Professor Rebecca Helm, from the University of Exeter, and Dr Karen Nokes, from UCL, was carried out as part of their Post Office project. Recommended reading: Dr Nokes said: 'Many subpostmasters went from being highly respected and central to their local community to being publicly vilified, and labelled a thief, for something they hadn't done. 'Some experienced aggressive and distressing harassment and victimisation, including being spat at, and receiving abusive letters, phone calls and emails. 'There were clear 'ripple effects' – the reputational damage often extended to their families and people affected couldn't get away from the stigma.'
