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The number of convictions linked to a second Post Office IT scandal being investigated for miscarriages of justice – has more than doubled, Sky News has learned.

Twenty-one Capture cases have now been submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) for review.

Before Christmas, it was around eight.

They relate to the Capture computing software, which was used in Post Office branches in the 1990s before the infamous faulty Horizon system was introduced.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of stealing after Horizon software caused false shortfalls in branch accounts between 1999 and 2015.

A report last year found that there was a reasonable likelihood that the Capture accounting system, used from the early 1990s until 1999, was also responsible for shortfalls.

If the CCRC finds significant new evidence or legal arguments not previously heard before, cases can be referred back to the Court of Appeal.

More on Post Office Scandal

Lawyer for victims, Neil Hudgell from Hudgell Solicitors, says the next steps for the Capture cases and the CCRC are still “some months away”.

He said he is also hopeful that the first cases could be referred to the Court of Appeal before the end of this year.

Screengrabs from Adele Robinson i/v with lawyer for victims of the Capture IT system, Neil Hudgell from Hudgell Solicitors
Source P 175500FR POST OFFICE CAPTURE CASES ROBINSON 0600 VT V2 JJ1
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Lawyer Neil Hudgell described victims of the Capture IT system as ‘hideously damaged people’


“Certainly we will certainly be lobbying,” he said. “The CCRC will be lobbying, the advisory board will be lobbying any interested parties, that these are hideously damaged people of advancing years who need some peace of mind and the quicker that can happen the better.”

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In December the government said it would offer ‘redress’ to Post Office Capture software victims

‘We didn’t talk about it’

Among those submitted to the CCRC – Pat Owen’s Capture case was the first.

Her family have kept her 1998 conviction for stealing from her post office branch a secret for 26 years.

Juliet Shardlow daughter of Pat Owen and Adele
Screengrabs from Adele Robinson i/vs with case study. Family of Pat Owen from Kent who was convicted of 1998 from stealing from her post office branch. Now the Capture IT system is suspected of adding errors to the accounts. 
Source P 175500FR POST OFFICE CAPTURE CASES ROBINSON 0600 VT V2 JJ1
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Juliet Shardlow shows Sky News paperwork which could explain discrepancies logged by Capture

Speaking to Sky News they have opened up for the first time about what happened to her.

Pat was a former sub-postmistress, who was found guilty and given a two-year suspended sentence.

She died in 2003 from heart failure.

Pat Owen and husband David
Screengrabs from Adele Robinson i/vs with case study. Family of Pat Owen from Kent who was convicted of 1998 from stealing from her post office branch. Now the Capture IT system is suspected of adding errors to the accounts. 
Source P 175500FR POST OFFICE CAPTURE CASES ROBINSON 0600 VT V2 JJ1
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David Owen and his wife Pat in happier times

Her daughters describe her as coming home from court after her conviction “a different woman”.

“We didn’t talk about it,” said Juliet Shardlow. “We didn’t talk about it amongst ourselves as a family, we didn’t talk about it with the extended family.

“Our extended family don’t know.”

Pat Owen's daughter Juliet Shardlow
Screengrabs from Adele Robinson i/vs with case study. Family of Pat Owen from Kent who was convicted of 1998 from stealing from her post office branch. Now the Capture IT system is suspected of adding errors to the accounts. 
Source P 175500FR POST OFFICE CAPTURE CASES ROBINSON 0600 VT V2 JJ1
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Juliet Shardlow said her mum Pat was a different person after her conviction

David Owen, Pat’s husband, said she lost a lot of weight after her conviction and at 62 years old “looked like an old gal of 90”.

Capture evidence never heard in court

Pat’s family kept all the documents from her case safe for over two decades and now a key piece of evidence may turn the tide on her conviction, and potentially help others.

A document summarising the findings of an IT expert described the computer Pat used as having “a faulty motherboard”.

It also stated that this “would have produced calculation errors and may have been responsible for the discrepancies subsequently identified by Post Office Counters’ Security and Investigation team.”

Read more from Sky News:
Sub-postmasters: ‘Still going through hell’
Compensation for victims of Capture
Calls on Fujitsu for compensation

The computer expert was due to give evidence in Pat Owen’s defence at court as part of her trial – but failed to turn up on the day.

The family say they never found out exactly why he didn’t show up at court.

David said there was a computer all set up in the courtroom for the expert to use to show malfunctions.

Husband David Owen
Screengrabs from Adele Robinson i/vs with case study. Family of Pat Owen from Kent who was convicted of 1998 from stealing from her post office branch. Now the Capture IT system is suspected of adding errors to the accounts. 
Source P 175500FR POST OFFICE CAPTURE CASES ROBINSON 0600 VT V2 JJ1
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David Owen said his wife Pat never expected to lose her court case

“I heard, now I can’t remember who from, that he’d done work for the Post Office,” he said.

“If he turned up to be a witness in court for us to he wouldn’t get any more work from the Post Office.”

Despite best efforts the expert has never been tracked down. The Post Office has declined to comment.

David also described how his wife never expected to lose her case.

“She was so confident. She knew she didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

“But when the guilty verdict came out she actually fell to her knees in the dock crying her eyes out shaking.”

He said the judge then asked if he wanted to say anything, and David said he got up in court and spoke at length about his wife’s innocence.

The government announced in December that they will be setting up a redress scheme for Capture victims, similar to Horizon.

So far around 100 people who suffered after being accused of stealing from their branch, while using Capture, could be eligible for redress.

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Jaguar Land Rover to ‘pause’ US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover to 'pause' US shipments over Donald Trump tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.

JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.

Follow live updates: Trump’s baseline 10% tariff kicks in

In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.

“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”

The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.

More on Donald Trump

JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.

“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.

Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.

All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.

Read more: A red wall on Wall Street – but Trump seems to believe it will work out

Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.

Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

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Two people die after caravan fire at holiday park in Lincolnshire

Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.

In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.

Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.

They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.

The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.

Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.

“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.

Two fire crews remain at the scene.

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Boy dies after ‘getting into difficulty’ in lake in southeast London

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Boy dies after 'getting into difficulty' in lake in southeast London

A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.

Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.

The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.

“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.

The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.

The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.

In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.

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google street view inside Beckenham Place park, Lewisham where a 16 y/o boy is missing after getting into difficulty in a lake
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Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon

Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.

The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.

It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”

Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.

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