The post office has made its first official apology to subputmasters who used its faulty capture accounts
Ken Tooby Received a Letter from a Senior Executive Who “Apologized Sincerely and Unreservedly” on Behahalf of the post office for “Failings and IMPACT” on TOOOBY 'on TOOBY' Challenging the post office over alleged shortfalls in the accounts at her branch in the north-east of england.
June Tooby, Who Died In 2020, was relatively pursued by the post office and Never Reveled to Her Husband The Amount of Pressure She was Under.
In the letter, Simon Recaldin, Remedies Unit Director at the Post Office Wrote: “It is clear through the efforts of former postmasters and their faamilies that there was significant failing Capture. We are truly sory for these failings and their impact on all concerned, including your late wife, June.
“We deeply regret that june was not removed her good name restored. “
Tooby was suited by the post office for more than £ 55,000 and taken to court in 2003, Following Unexplained Shortfalls in Branch Accounts. She was declared bankrupt.
Last year, an independent investment was commissioned into capture, which Found there was a “Reasonable likelihood” It had caused shortfalls in branch accounts, which ruined lives.
The Apology Comes after Campaigning by Former Capture users who, until the itv dramaatization of the Post Office Horizon Scandal In January last year, Had been in the dark over how it errors should cause losses they were blamed and punished for.
The Post Office Scandal was first Expeded by Computer Weekly In 2009 after capture had been introduced.
After years of Campaigning, subpostmasters who had sufed as a result of errors in horizon wonded put at the center of national debate when the istra drama Mr bats vs the post office Brought their stories to wider public attention.
In the same month, kevan jones, an MP at the time with sits in the house of lords, Highlighted evidence of injustues caused by the capture computer system used by some post office branches prior to the introduction of Horizon.
Echoes of Horizon
Jones Had Visited a Subpostmaster who He Thought May Be a Victim of Horizon, but when he realized the dates involved, it is clear another system count be at fault.
Since the drama put the scandal at the center of debate, successive governments have been forced to act. In May 2024, The Former Conservative Government ITROCED Legislation to exonerate About 900 Former Horizon users who were convicated based on Evidence from Fujitsu's Faulty System.
Now the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is reviewing 21 cases of Potential Wrongful Conviction, Put Forward by Law Firm Hudgell Solicitors, Where the Capture It System COLD BE A FACTOR. This is an Increase from 17 just weeks ago and from Five in November Last Year.
Capture was a pc-based application developed by the post office And uploaded onto a personal computer to carry out branch accounts. The software was a standalone system, Unlike Horizon, which is a complex, networked system connected to centralized services.
More cases come forward
Thousands of subpostmasters used capture and there are more and more cases coming to light with glaning similar similars to that that related to Horizon.
A Kent SubpostmistS who was convicated of theft from her branch in the 1990s is one of a new wave whose familyes are fighting to clear his names.
Patricia Owen, who was convicated in 1998 of theft from her post office branch in Canterbury over a shortfall of £ 6,000, is one of the 21 cashes Hudgell has put forward to the cccrocc.
Owen, who died in 2003, denied the charges against her but was found guilty on five counts of theft. She received a Six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Owen's Daughter, Juliet, Said Her Mother Never Recovered from the sentence: “It destroyed my mum. Her world came to an end when she lost her post office and was prosecuted. It was awful, “She said.
“One day I Remember Them Sitting Us Down and Telling Us That Mum Was Being Prosecuted and that they had to go to court. With the software, so we websful ahead of the court case.
Peter Lolyd-Holt, Who Died aged 75 in 2021, was sacked in 1994 from his role as a subpostmaster in bolton after accounts at his branch showed Unexplained Shortfalls.
His wife agnes, who worked as an investigator for the department of work and pensions at the time he was sacked, said life was never the same again: “That was the begining of the end. He was interviewed under caution with represtation. I was contacted but not allowed to Attend, “She said.
“He was Eventually Told in March 1995 that he wasn't going to be prosecuted, but he was still heart responsible for the shortfalls and we We WERE MADE to pay back a considerable Sum.
“I had to work overtime to pay the mortgage and to pay back what the post office alleged we open them, and that meant we sufred Financial Hardship as there Hardship as there had to be cuts,” She added.
Lloyd-Holt's Son, Paul, Said: “What Happy to My Father Destroyed Him. When my dad was interviewed he submitted all his documentation and evidence to clear his name, LEDGERS and DOCKETS AND Spreadsheets, but they were Never Returned, So there is a litle evidence available to us to us to us to clear His name.
“Any Evidence Like Bank Statements have been lost over time, so we need the support of the solicitors to do this. He Never Cold Move on Thought, It Always Cast a Shadow Over His Life, and Our Lives as a Family. Now, we're in a position where we only have our own memory, and we are having to contact many organizations and bodies to see what extra evidence we can uncover. “
The post office Horizon scandal was First exposed by computer weekly in 2009Revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffred due to accounting software (See Below Timeline of All Computer Weekly Articles About The Horizon Scandal, Since 2009,