Sub-postmistress Patricia Owen was found guilty of theft after she was prosecuted in 1998 for stealing just £2,000 from her branch in Canterbury, Kent.
Mrs Owen, who received a six month suspended sentence, died in 2003 but her family, including daughter Juliet Shardlow, have been determined to clear her name.
Ms Owen’s daughter Juliet Shardlow hopes her mum’s case will help other victims (Photo: Supplied)
Ms Shardlow and her legal team have now confirmed Mrs Owen’s case is the first to be referred by CCRC commissioners to the Court of Appeal.
It is not clear if the Post Office will contest the appeal application or not.
Ms Shardlow described the news as “a bit of a groundreaker”.
“The big thing for me is that we’ve been fighting for this for such a long time and finally someone in authority has said ‘Yes, this is correct and you’re right’.
The Capture software was rolled out to Post Office branches starting in 1992
The i Paper first reported in January 2024 that a number of former sub-postmasters and their families were claiming to have been wrongly convicted by the Post Office in a scandal that pre-dated the Horizon computer system.
The Post Office’s IT team sent numerous bulletins out to postmasters during the mid-90s admitting their software was faulty and capable of causing accounting problems, but investigators continued to prosecute people.
A standard check of Mrs Owen’s accounts in November 1995 showed an overclaim relating to pension and allowance payments. After her equipment was seized the Post Office alleged she had manipulated the accounts produced by the Capture software system to inflate payment claims. Mrs Owen adamantly denied any wrongdoing but was prosecuted and convicted.
Steve Marston, centre, and other former sub-postmasters meeting Government officials about the Capture scandal (Photo: Tom Pilston/The i Paper)Hudgell Solicitors, which has represented many Horizon victims, is now supported Ms Shardlow and more than 100 people affected by Capture.
“Those who were affected by Capture have suffered the longest of all.”
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“However, this is a hugely positive step, and we hope this is the first of many cases to be referred for consideration.”
“We are determined that past wrongs are put right and continue to support the Government’s work in this area as well as fully co-operate with the Criminal Cases Review Commission.”
“The CCRC has sent more than 70 cases associated with the Post Office Horizon scandal to the appeal courts. The scandal involved hundreds of UK sub-postmasters being wrongly accused and convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting due to faults in the Horizon IT system.
“It will be for the Court of Appeal to decide whether Mrs Owen’s conviction is unsafe and should be quashed.”
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