Post Office scandal redress must not only be fair - it must be fast
Capture is not a separate Post Office scandal - it's part of the same one. Victims now want "parity" with Horizon victims when it comes to redress and quashing their convictions.
Thursday 19 June 2025 19:51, UK
"Exonerate and acknowledge" say victims of the Post Office Capture scandal.
And it's easy to see why patience is wearing thin.
To understand what happened with Capture, you must first understand Horizon.
Both scandals centre not on flawed software alone, but how the Post Office reacted to it.
A business that used its powers to privately prosecute sub-postmasters, forcing them to pay back unexplained accounting shortfalls.
Any suggestion that the system itself was at fault was dismissed.
Capture is not a separate scandal - it's part of the same one.
That's why Capture victims now want "parity" with Horizon victims when it comes to redress and exoneration.
"It should now be a given," says Steve Lewis, who was sacked from his job as a sub-postmaster after raising concerns about shortfalls linked to Capture software.
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The government has promised an Autumn 2025 redress scheme. But Steve wants proposed interim payments to be "paid swiftly due to demographics, age, and well-being of the Capture group".
And beyond compensation lie even more urgent demands: for those wrongfully convicted under Capture to be exonerated.
Many of these individuals remain ineligible for redress, their names still tarnished.
They're calling for blanket exonerations - just as in the Horizon scandal - to finally quash their convictions.
The judiciary will push back, undoubtedly, against this.
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But, as Steve puts it, "time is not on our side" for redress and exoneration.
Too many Capture victims have already died without ever knowing justice - as have many Horizon victims.
If governments have learned anything over the years, it's this: justice delayed is justice denied.
Redress must not only be fair - it must be fast.