Canterbury sub-postmistress conviction referred to appeal court

The first criminal conviction linked to the Post Office Capture system has been referred to the Court of Appeal.

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, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said.

Ms Owen was convicted of theft from the Broad Oak Post Office branch in Sweechgate, near Canterbury, over a shortfall of £6,000.

The former sub-postmistress used the Capture system, a precursor to the Horizon software, which has been responsible for almost 1,000 wrongful convictions.

She received a sentence of six months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

The case is to be sent to the Court of Appeal posthumously following an application by Ms Owen’s family after her death in 2003.

The CCRC said in March that it was examining 27 cases to determine whether the Capture accounting software played a part in 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 said the referral was a “hugely positive step”.

“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,” he said.

“Those who were affected by Capture have suffered the longest of all.”

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.”