Post Office statement on ‘Capture’

Following a newspaper report in the i newspaper, first published online on 17 January 2024, and subsequent reports featuring the stories of former Postmasters that used Capture, Post Office can today (7 February) provide an initial update on its investigation.

A Post Office spokesperson said:

“We take very seriously any concerns raised about cases from before the Horizon system was first rolled out in 1999. Our current understanding is that Capture does not appear to have been ‘networked’, but the software was used by some Postmasters, alongside manual processes, for simplifying accounts before they were manually submitted.

“We are particularly concerned about allegations of prosecutions, and we are looking into this along with all available facts about Capture, including whether shortfalls could have been caused by faults in this software, and the potential impacts if so.

“Given the passage of time, around 30 years ago, and changes to data storage systems since the split from Royal Mail, we do not yet have a complete picture of Capture but are looking into the issue given the concerns raised."