An investigation into the Post Office’s accounting system used before the infamous Horizon software has found that its predecessor, called Capture, was also likely faulty.
According to a report by financial and risk advisory firm Kroll, there is a “reasonable likelihood” that Capture could have caused cash shortfalls in sub-postmasters’ accounts.
The system was in use from 1992 to 1999 before being replaced by Horizon, which later became the focus of one of the UK’s most extensive miscarriages of justice.
Between 1999 and 2015, over 900 sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted after issues with Horizon falsely indicated missing funds.
Now, concerns are being raised that Capture might have also contributed to financial discrepancies in branches.
Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas expressed shock over the revelations, stating he was “horrified” by the potential for similar faults in the earlier system.
The Kroll report highlighted internal and external communications from the 1990s acknowledging bugs and errors within Capture.
Despite certain control mechanisms in place, the complexity of fixes required and the reliance on communication from Post Office Limited left room for mistakes to go undetected.
Kroll has not commented on whether any convictions related to Capture could be considered unsafe. The government is expected to review the report and announce any further action in December.
Kroll’s investigation was commissioned in May to determine if Capture may have wrongly generated cash shortfalls, similar to the known bugs in Horizon.
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