Third Post Office IT System Under Scrutiny in Conviction Appeal
The criminal conviction of a former subpostmaster, which relied on evidence from what is now the third potentially faulty Post Office computer system, has been formally referred to the Court of Appeal. This development significantly widens the scope of the long-running Post Office IT scandal beyond the already infamous Horizon system.
The Case of Gareth Snow
Gareth Snow pleaded guilty to three counts of false accounting back in July 2001. The court heard how he admitted to falsifying documents to cover an apparent loss exceeding £57,000 at his branch in Corwen, Denbighshire. This admission resulted in a six-month prison sentence for the subpostmaster.
The case against him was built upon data from the Post Office's Automatic Payment Service (APS) and Automatic Payment Terminal (APT) system. This system, used for processing transactions like rent and utility bills, is now under intense scrutiny. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, has stated there is evidence the APS/APT system could cause accounting errors.
A Pattern of Failure and a Lack of Investigation
Dame Vera Baird KC, chair of the CCRC, highlighted a critical failure in the Post Office's original investigation. She stated there appears to be no indication that the Post Office made any attempt to investigate other potential causes for the shortfalls in Mr Snow's accounts before pursuing prosecution.
Mr Snow's troubles began with an audit at his branch in November 2000, which revealed a discrepancy of £57,534.75. While he admitted to falsifying the accounts, he maintained from the outset that he did so only because of unexplained errors generated by the APT system that created the accounting shortfalls.
The APS/APT system, which consisted of an electronic terminal connected to telephone lines, recorded transactions that were then manually entered into a ledger. The CCRC's referral suggests the reliability of this entire process is now in question.
This case marks the third distinct Post Office computer system linked to potential wrongful prosecutions, following the widespread scandals associated with the Horizon system and its predecessor, Capture. Mr Snow had initially applied for leave to appeal his conviction in 2021 but abandoned the process. A fresh application was submitted to the CCRC in March 2023, leading to this latest referral.
It will now be for the Court of Appeal to examine the evidence and decide whether Gareth Snow's conviction is unsafe and should be quashed, potentially delivering long-awaited justice more than two decades after his imprisonment.
