Government Promises Compensation for Post Office Capture Scandal Victims

By Evans Momodu
3 minute read

The UK government has announced plans to provide compensation to victims of the Post Office’s Capture accounting software scandal.

This comes as the Business and Trade Department pledges to avoid the mishandling seen during the later Horizon scandal, which led to wrongful prosecutions of hundreds of sub-postmasters.

Government’s Commitment

In an interview, Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas emphasized that his department is “working at pace” to deliver redress to affected individuals, many of whom were convicted of theft or false accounting in the 1990s due to errors linked to the Capture IT system.

Key Points:

• The government is aiming to compensate victims swiftly.
• Thomas did not rule out blanket exoneration for those convicted based on Capture data.

The Capture System and its Legacy

The Capture accounting software was in use from 1992 to 1999, predating the notorious Horizon IT system, which led to one of the UK’s biggest miscarriages of justice.

• A government-commissioned Kroll report earlier this year found a “reasonable likelihood” that Capture caused accounting errors, though it stopped short of confirming the safety of related criminal convictions.
• Many sub-postmasters claim wrongful prosecution and financial ruin due to errors attributed to Capture.

Historical Context: The Horizon Scandal

Between 1999 and 2015, the Horizon system led to the wrongful prosecution of over 700 sub-postmasters for alleged theft and fraud. Many of these cases have since been overturned, and a significant compensation scheme has been rolled out.

What’s Next?

While compensation appears to be on the horizon for Capture victims, questions remain:

• Exoneration: Whether the government will offer blanket overturning of convictions linked to Capture.
• Compensation Details: The scope, timeline, and adequacy of the planned redress scheme.
• Transparency: Learning from the mistakes of the Horizon case to ensure fairness and speed.

The government’s actions represent a step towards justice for those affected by systemic failures in Post Office accounting systems over decades.
Source: Sky news
Image: INews