At least eight convictions predating the Horizon Post Office scandal are being looked at by the body investigating potential miscarriages of justice, Sky News has learned.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has confirmed it is examining multiple cases of former sub-postmasters affected by Capture software.

The computer accounting system was used in the early 1990s, prior to Horizon being introduced to Post Office branches from 1999 onwards.

Horizon was at the centre of the Post Office scandal and saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of stealing from their branches.

The Kroll report, commissioned by the government earlier this year, found that Capture had bugs and glitches and there was a reasonable likelihood it had caused cash shortfalls too.

Lord Beamish, the former Labour MP Kevan Jones, has been supporting victims and is calling for the government to extend current legislation to automatically quash convictions.

The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act was passed in May but does not include Capture victims.

Lord Beamish told Sky News he has raised the issue with the Justice Secretary and called for a House of Lords debate.

“The government are going to have to take this seriously,” he said. “We can’t have a situation where we have a two-tier system where people get exonerated from Horizon and the Capture cases are either forgotten or have to go through a very lengthy legal process to get their names cleared.”

He added he had “little faith” in the CCRC’s “ability to deal with cases”, after multiple Horizon cases were referred to the body years ago.

“The problem with these cases is the lack of evidence… that has been destroyed or lost so actually proving some of these cases through that process will be very difficult.

“Therefore I think a blanket exoneration like we had with Horizon I think has got to be discussed and considered for these cases.”

The CCRC told Sky News it has five cases under review “in which the Capture IT system could be a factor”.

It also said it is “seeking further information” on eight cases referenced in the Kroll report.

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The CCRC added that the time taken for a case review to be completed was dependent on the “complexity” of each case “and how readily available information about it is”. In a statement, it admitted: “The availability of information can be a particular hurdle in older cases.”

Chris Roberts’ mother, Liz Roberts, was convicted in 1999 of stealing £46,000 from the Post Office and spent 13 months behind bars.

Liz, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, passed away earlier this year.

Chris said she was jailed four days before he turned 17, and he used to have “nightmares” that she was “going to die in there”.

“There was no evidence of any financial gain because they went through everything. And obviously the money wasn’t in our accounts because it didn’t exist,” he added.

Despite being offered “three deals” by the Post Office to plead guilty, Liz refused and was sent to prison.

Chris believes that the 2019 High Court win by Horizon victims was a missed opportunity for the Post Office to look back at Capture cases.

“It would have been worth something then because my mum would have died knowing that everybody else knew she was innocent,” he said.

“My dad would have died knowing that the love of his life wasn’t vilified as a criminal.”

Chris wants his mother exonerated and “those actively responsible” to “stand up in court… and justify themselves”.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “We were horrified to learn about the issues with the Capture system and are working closely across government to thoroughly examine Kroll’s independent report and consider what action should be taken.

“We continue to listen to postmasters and others who have been sharing their views on the report’s findings since its publication last month.”

Official accounts have revealed for the first time how much the King’s 2023 coronation cost UK taxpayers.

According to the accounts, the government spent £72m on the coronation – the first in Britain since Queen Elizabeth II’s in 1953.

The figure includes £50.3m of costs attributed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which coordinated the coronation, and £21.7m in costs for the Home Office for the policing of the event.

By comparison, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and events during the period of national mourning cost the government an estimated £162m – £74m for the Home Office and £57m for the DCMS as well as costs to the devolved governments.

The figures come from the culture department’s recently released annual report and accounts.

The department said it had “successfully delivered on the central weekend of His Majesty King Charles III’s Coronation, enjoyed by many millions both in the UK and across the globe”.

It described the event as a “once-in-a-generation moment” which provided an occasion for the “entire country to come together in celebration”.

Both the King and Queen were crowned at Westminster Abbey in May last year, in a ceremony attended by dignitaries from around the world.

A star-studded concert at Windsor Castle, featuring Take That and stars such as Olly Murs, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, took place the following night.

It had been described ahead of the event as being a “slimmed-down affair” – with the country still in the grips of the cost-of-living crisis – and accounts show an “underspend” related to the coronation of around £2.8m.

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Despite talk of a coronation boost, the UK’s economy actually contracted in the month of May 2023.

However, experts said that was mostly due to the cost of the additional public holiday for the event, which weighed on output.

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Each bank holiday costs the UK economy around £2.3bn, with the extra bank holiday for the late Queen’s funeral estimated to have cost around £2.4bn, according to government figures.

With the extra coronation bank holiday, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed negative growth of 0.1% during May 2023.

However, that was slightly better than economists had predicted ahead of the event.

Prior to the event, economic forecasters, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), had predicted a boost of £337m for the UK’s economy due to the coronation – including £104m in extra pub spending and an estimated £223m spend from tourism to the UK during the period.

Hotel revenue was also said to be up by 54% compared to the same point in the previous year, while bookings for UK-bound flights for the coronation weekend jumped by 149% within 24 hours of the day being announced, according to TravelPort.

Britain is now “directly involved” in the Ukraine war after its Storm Shadow missiles were used to strike targets inside Russia, according to Moscow’s ambassador.

Speaking to Sky News, Andrei Kelin also warned the West to carefully consider the lower bar Russia has established for using nuclear weapons.

It comes after Western allies green-lit Ukraine‘s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia this week, following months of requests.

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British Storm Shadow missiles were fired into Russia just days after President Biden authorised the same policy shift.

Russia’s President Putin responded on Thursday by saying Russia had tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

He warned it could also be used against military facilities of countries that allow Kyiv to use their own missiles.

“We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of the countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities,” Mr Putin said.

“And in case of escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond resolutely in a mirror way.”

The Russian ambassador told Sky News’ Mark Austin that Britain allowing Ukraine to use its missiles over the border had dragged the UK into the conflict.

“Absolutely, Britain and UK is now directly involved in this war, because this firing cannot happen without NATO staff, British staff as well,” said Mr Kelin.

He added: “The US administration, support by France and the UK, has made a deliberate decision to make these strikes, which seriously escalates the situation, and it can bring a collision between the nuclear powers.”

Mr Kelin called it “deliberate cheating of us” – claiming he had received multiple assurances the Storm Shadows would only be used inside Ukrainian territory.

Asked what the difference was between Ukraine using British missiles and Russia using Chinese, Iranian and North Korean equipment and manpower, Mr Kelin pointed to foreign fighters on the Ukrainian side.

“On that subject, I can say easily that we have plenty of mercenaries from different countries that are fighting right now on the side of Ukraine,” he said.

“We just have seen in the Kursk area of the Polish unit, which has a special uniform worn by Polish soldiers. So what’s the matter?”

In response to Mr Kelin’s comments, a Downing Street spokesperson said the government would not be “deterred or distracted by commentary from Vladimir Putin or the Russian ambassador”.

Until this week, Britain said its tanks, anti-tank missiles and other equipment could be used inside Russia, but had kept restrictions on long-range missiles – echoing America’s policy.

President Putin again raised the spectre of nuclear weapons this week when he approved changes that lower the threshold for such a strike.

Many have dismissed the move as empty sabre rattling, but Russia’s ambassador told Sky News he hoped the change “would be carefully considered by Western experts” as underestimating the risk of escalation is “dangerous”.

Putin threatens Western military facilities

Reports on Thursday suggested Russia may have fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

President Zelenskyy said the weapon used had the speed and altitude of a ICBM.

He added: “Today, our crazy neighbour has once again shown what he really is and how he despises dignity, freedom, and human life in general. He is so afraid that he is already using new missiles.”

An investigation is under way to confirm the type of missile, Mr Zelenskyy added.

A spokesperson for the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said reports of the missile’s use were “deeply concerning”.

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However, in his TV address on Thursday evening, President Putin spoke of his forces using a new intermediate-range missile to hit a missile factory in Dnipro.

American officials also said their initial assessment was that the missile was an intermediate-range weapon.

In contrast, an ICBM can travel further – with a ranger greater than 3,500 miles (5,600km). They are generally used to deliver nuclear warheads but can carry other payloads.