Since the first revelations by i about concerns over Capture, the Post Office repeatedly refused to clarify who designed the software
Former sub-postmasters have come forward to claim they were wrongly accused of stealing from the Post Office due to issues with the Capture system , was first rolled out to branches in 1992 with the Post Office promising it would “simplify the task of keeping accounts”.In some cases, that appear to echo the experience of Horizon scandal victims, some people were prosecuted for those shortfalls.
Rupert Lloyd Thomas, a former IT specialist at the Post Office for 27 years before he retired in 2001, discovered the newspaper reports and toldHe claims he had widespread concerns about IT systems used by the Post Office during his time as an employee, including both Capture and Horizon. He added: “I was very concerned about all the different computer systems. I wrote a memo in the 90s about some of the systems and some of the decision making around that. Most of which I was unhappy about.Former sub-postmaster Steve Marston, 67, was prosecuted by the Post Office for theft and false accounting offences in 1998 after suffering unexplained Capture shortfalls.He pleaded guilty believing it was the only way to avoid going to prison but has always maintained his innocence.
“This revelation clearly shows that Capture was a large system and the Post Office need to come clean as a matter of urgency as to how many sub-postmasters were involved and how many were prosecuted,” he added.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Civil servants hit back at former ministers over Post Office scandalCivil servants respond to criticism from former ministers regarding their alleged failure to act on the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Read more »
Co Down woman accused in Post Office scandal questions missing moneyA woman from Co Down, accused of stealing thousands in the Post Office scandal, wonders where the money went. Kathy McAlerney, who ran a sub-Post Office branch in Leitrim village, Co Down, was informed that the branch owed Royal Mail nearly £30,000 due to issues with the Horizon computer system. She is still waiting for charges on her property to be lifted and believes the situation was unfair to her family.
Read more »
Money from Horizon scandal victims may have gone to Post Office executivesMoney wrongfully taken from victims of the Horizon scandal may have gone into the pay of Post Office executives, MPs have been told. Nick Read, chief executive of the Post Office, said the company has still 'not got to the bottom of' what happened to the cash paid by sub-postmasters and mistresses in a bid to cover the false financial black holes created by the Horizon software.
Read more »
MPs demand details of Fujitsu contracts amid Post Office scandalMPs have called for the disclosure of Fujitsu's contracts with public sector organisations since 2019 due to its involvement in the Post Office scandal. Fujitsu's European boss admitted that staff were aware of bugs in the Horizon IT system dating back to 1999. The company is under scrutiny following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which highlighted the wrongful accusations faced by sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses. Fujitsu executive Paul Patterson criticized the omission of glitches in witness statements used to prosecute individuals over the past two decades.
Read more »
Postmaster's battle with Post Office over £100k black hole as stressful as cancer fightA young postmaster who survived cancer has told how his ordeal over plugging a £100,000 Horizon black hole was as stressful as his fight with the deadly disease. Salman Aslam said a relentless five-year battle with the Post Office over major discrepancies at his Motherwell branch destroyed his life.
Read more »
Fujitsu's Horizon accounting system leads to wrongful convictions and suicidesBetween 2000 and 2015, 736 managers of local Post Office branches around Britain were criminally convicted of financial fraud when errors in Fujitsu's Horizon accounting system were to blame. Some spent time in prison and were left bankrupt. Six former Post Office subpostmasters caught up in the scandal have had their names formally cleared after the Court of Appeal quashed their wrongful criminal convictions.
Read more »