At least eight convictions dating back to the Horizon Post Office scandal are being reviewed by the body investigating potential miscarriages of justice, Sky News has learned.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has confirmed it is reviewing several cases of former sub-postmasters affected by the Capture software.

The computerized accounting system was used in the early 1990s, before Horizon was introduced to post office branches from 1999 onwards.

Horizon was in the center Postal Scandal and I have seen hundreds of sub-postmasters unjustly convicted of stealing from their branches.

The Kroll report, commissioned by the government earlier this year, found that Capture had bugs and errors and was reasonably likely to have also caused cash shortages.

Lord Beamish, former Labor MP Kevan Jones, has supported victims and is calling on the government to extend current legislation to automatically quash convictions.

The Post Office Offenses (Horizon System) Act was passed in May, but does not include capture victims.

Lord Beamish told Sky News he had raised the issue with the justice secretary and called for a debate in the House of Lords.

“The government will have to take this seriously,” he said. “We can’t have a situation where we have a two-tiered system where people are exonerated from Horizon and Capture cases are either forgotten or they have to go through a very long legal process to clear their names.”

He added that he had “little confidence” in the CCRC’s “ability to deal with cases” after several Horizon cases were referred to the body years ago.

“The problem with these cases is the lack of evidence … that was destroyed or lost – so it’s going to be very difficult to prove some of these cases through this trial.

“So I think a blanket waiver, like we had with Horizon, I think needs to be discussed and considered for these cases.”

The CCRC told Sky News it has five cases under review “where the Capture IT system could be a factor”.

It also said it was “seeking additional information” on eight cases referenced in the Kroll report.

Read more:
The woman who died after the conviction may have suffered a miscarriage of justice
Former postmaster says compensation offer ‘insulting’
The head of the post office was dismissed amid a conflict with the government

The CCRC added that the time it takes to complete a case review depends on the “complexity” of each case “and how readily information is available about it.” In a statement, he admitted: “Availability of information can be a particular obstacle in older cases.”

Chris Roberts’ mother Liz Roberts was convicted in 1999 of stealing £46,000 from the Post Office and spent 13 months behind bars.

Liz, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, died earlier this year.

Chris said she was locked up four days before he turned 17 and he used to have “nightmares” that she was “going to die in there”.

“There was no evidence of any financial gain because they went through everything. And obviously the money wasn’t in our accounts because it didn’t exist,” he added.

Despite being offered “three offers” by the post office to plead guilty, Liz refused and was sent to prison.

Chris believes the 2019 High Court victory for the Horizon victims was a missed opportunity for the Post Office to look back on the Capture cases.

“Then it would have been worth something because my mother would have died knowing that everyone else knew she was innocent,” he said.

“My father would have died knowing that the love of his life had not been slandered as a criminal.”

Chris wants his mother exonerated and “those actively responsible” to “stand up in court … and justify themselves”.

A spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade said: “We were horrified to learn of the problems with the Capture system and are working closely across government to thoroughly review Kroll’s independent report and consider what action should be taken.

“We continue to listen to postmasters and others who have shared their views on the report’s findings since it was published last month.”