Canterbury Post Office conviction could be quashed, says family

The daughter of a former sub-postmistress who died five years after being convicted of stealing from her branch says she is confident her mother’s name will now be cleared.

Patricia Owen was convicted in 1998 over a £6,000 shortfall from the Post Office branch in Broad Oak, near Canterbury in Kent, which she denied.

Mrs Owen’s conviction is the first related to the Post Office’s Capture software, which predates the faulty Horizon software, to be referred to the Court of Appeal.

The Post Office said it was unable to comment on individual cases but would be supporting the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) as it deals with pre-Horizon convictions.

Mrs Owen’s case was sent to the Court of Appeal after her death following an application by her family.

The family says a report from the time which found “bugs and errors” with the software was never shown to the judge or jury.

Mrs Owen’s daughter, Juliet Shardlow, said: “That report is classified as new evidence, so that’s what’s enabled us to go for the appeal.

“She was one of those people that believed in justice. At no point did she think she would be found guilty. It destroyed her and us as a family.”

The CCRC, which confirmed Mrs Owen’s referral on Thursday, said it had so far received 34 pre-Horizon conviction applications, though four did not have a real chance of being overturned.

More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from the Horizon computer system.

The Department for Business and Trade said it was “pleased” Mrs Owen’s case had been referred.

The Capture system was developed in-house by the Post Office and was used between 1992 and 1999.