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The first legal appeal involving the Post Office’s early computer system Capture has been pushed back, as the organisation has requested extra time to respond, Sky News has revealed.
Pat Owen, a former sub-postmistress who died in 2003, was convicted of theft in 1998 based on data produced by the Capture software. The system operated across as many as 2,500 branches throughout the 1990s, prior to the rollout of the now-notorious Horizon system.
Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted as part of the Horizon scandal. However, earlier this year, Sky News uncovered a 1998 expert report showing that Capture itself also had serious faults. That report—commissioned by Owen’s legal team—was provided to the Post Office at the time but may not have reached the jury in her trial.
Owen received a suspended sentence and spent years trying to clear her name before her death. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) referred her case to the Court of Appeal in October. The Post Office was expected to respond to the defence papers by 5 December but has now asked for an extension until 30 January.
Her daughter, Juliet Shardlow, expressed deep frustration at the delays, saying the prolonged uncertainty has taken a severe emotional toll. She said the family has been waiting nearly three decades for justice, and the latest setback feels “never-ending.”
Owen’s case is the first involving Capture to reach the Court of Appeal since the wider scandal came to light. Lawyers believe a successful posthumous acquittal could accelerate the progress of other similar cases. CCRC chair Dame Vera Baird previously described it as a potential “touchstone case.”
The CCRC continues to review around 30 additional “pre-Horizon” convictions linked to older systems.
The Post Office, in a statement, apologised for the distress caused but said more time is needed to carefully analyse the CCRC’s findings and properly assist the court.
In the meantime, the first compensation scheme for victims affected by the Capture system was launched this autumn, offering payments of up to £300,000—and more in exceptional circumstances—to former postmasters who suffered financial harm.
