The first criminal conviction linked to the Post Office Capture system has been referred to the Court of Appeal.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said the case of Patricia Owen, who was found guilty of five counts of theft in June 1998, has been referred on the grounds that it was an abuse of process.
Mrs Owen pleaded not guilty to all five charges after the Broad Oak Post Office branch in Sweechgate, Canterbury, was left with a shortfall of £6,000.
She received a sentence of six months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.
The case is being sent to the Court of Appeal posthumously following an application by Mrs Owen’s family after she died in 2003.
Mrs Owen’s legal team stood down an independent IT specialist on the day of her trial despite Adrian Montagu’s report concluding that “bugs and errors existed in sufficiently significant numbers and seriousness” and that any evidence relying on the system “must be regarded as very unsafe”.
The CCRC said in March that it was examining 27 cases to determine whether the Capture accounting software played a part in convictions.
The Capture system pre-dated the now infamous Horizon software – which has been responsible for almost 1,000 wrongful convictions.
An independent report into Capture was commissioned last year after subpostmasters said they had suffered similar problems to those faced by the Horizon victims.
The CCRC said it has sent more than 70 cases associated with the Post Office Horizon scandal to the appeal courts.
Solicitor Neil Hudgell, whose firm Hudgell Solicitors represents more than 100 people affected by the Capture system, said the referral is a “hugely positive step”.
He said: “This is another landmark moment in the continuing campaign to ensure all those who were wrongly prosecuted at the hands of the Post Office have their names cleared.
“Those who were affected by Capture have suffered the longest of all.
“It is important to recognise that we await the Post Office’s position on this matter, and whether it will offer any evidence against Mrs Owen’s conviction being overturned, and then of course the Court of Appeal’s decision itself.
“I was always struck by how Mrs Owen protested her innocence throughout, pointing the finger of blame at the system.
“Why compelling IT evidence was not used in court remains a mystery.
“However, this is a hugely positive step, and we hope this is the first of many cases to be referred for consideration.”
In a statement, the Department for Business and Trade said: “We recognise that postmasters have endured immeasurable suffering, and we are working closely with those affected by Capture software to create a new redress scheme.
“Ensuring postmasters are treated with dignity and respect is our absolute priority, and we will continue to listen to those who have been sharing their stories and work with the CCRC to support them with their review of the Capture system.”
