Skip to content
© Copyright, Criminal Cases Review Commission 2025.

CCRC refers first Post Office ‘Capture’ conviction to the Court of Appeal 

Published:

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred for appeal a conviction based on evidence from Capture, the accounting software used by the Post Office before the, now notoriously faulty, Horizon system. 

Yesterday (Thursday 15 October), the case of former sub-postmistress Patricia Owen was referred to the Court of Appeal. 

The CCRC confirmed in July that a decision had been taken to refer Patricia Owen’s 1998 convictions for five counts of theft to the Court on the grounds her prosecution was an abuse of process. Mrs Owen died in April 2003 and an application to the CCRC was made on her behalf by her family in January last year.  

It is now for the Court of Appeal to decide whether the convictions are unsafe and should be quashed. 

We continue to review cases from other sub-postmasters who were convicted of offences before and following the introduction of Horizon. So far, we have received 34 pre-Horizon applications. 

Unlike Mrs Owen’s case, four of these cases were determined by a committee of three Commissioners not to raise a real possibility that the conviction would be overturned, which is the CCRC’s statutory test for referral, and so they will not be referred to the Court. The other 29 cases are being reviewed.  

Dame Vera Baird KC, Chair of the CCRC, said: “We have more than 30 applications to refer Post Office convictions which predate Horizon and most of these cases are under active investigation. In some of these very old cases, there is a dearth of paperwork, dates or other information.  

“We have exercised our powers under section 17 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 to require the Post Office to produce all the material they have, in each case and they will provide it where it is available.” 

[ENDS]  

Notes to Editors:  

  1. The CCRC is an independent body set up under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is responsible for independently reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is based in Birmingham and is funded by the Ministry of Justice.      
  1. There are currently ten Commissioners who bring to the CCRC considerable experience from a wide variety of backgrounds. Commissioners are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Prime Minister in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice.   
  1. The CCRC usually receives around 1,500 applications for reviews (convictions and/or sentences) each year. Since starting work in 1997, the CCRC has referred around 3% of applications to the appeal courts.      
  1. The CCRC considers whether, as a result of new evidence or argument, there is a real possibility that the conviction would not be upheld were a reference to be made. New evidence or argument is argument or evidence which has not been raised during the trial or on appeal.  Applicants should usually have appealed first. A case can be referred in the absence of new evidence or argument or an earlier appeal only if there are “exceptional circumstances”.       
  1. If a case is referred, it is then for the appeal court to decide whether the conviction is unsafe.      
  1. More details about the role and work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission can be found at www.ccrc.gov.uk. The CCRC can be found on X, Facebook, Instagram (@the_ccrc) and Linkedin.