Court of Appeal rejects Post Office bid to delay Capture scandal case

The Court of Appeal has rejected a request from the Post Office to delay a Capture scandal case.

Steve Marston's conviction from 1998 was referred to the court as a potential miscarriage of justice in April.

Mr Marston, a former sub-postmaster, was accused of stealing from his branch after using the faulty accounting software called Capture.

Capture, which was used by the Post Office in the 1990s, predated the infamous Horizon IT system.

The Post Office had requested a two-month extension to Mr Marston's case before it delivered its formal response.

There are currently three Capture cases that have been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).

The first Capture appeal, brought on behalf of Pat Owen, was referred last year after Sky News uncovered a previously unseen expert report raising serious concerns about the reliability of Capture software.

Mrs Owen died in 2003 before her conviction could be challenged.

The long-lost report, which may never have been seen by a jury, concluded Capture was capable of producing "absurd gibberish".

That document is also being used in Mr Marston's appeal.

Mr Marston said he welcomed the Court of Appeal's decision not to delay his case, warning that it would have caused significant distress for his family.

Delay would be 'cruel'

"I feel that they had more than enough time to carry out their own review whilst my case was with the CCRC, and that it would have been cruel to extend the agony and stress we as a family have been under for so long.

"We desperately need this to proceed as quickly as possible, having had this hanging over us for nearly thirty years.

"Finally, we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel."

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The Post Office said it will file its formal response to Mr Marston's case by 13 May.

It also referred Sky News to directions given by the Court of Appeal Registrar, who said that "the reasons given as to the need for an extension of time may be reasonable in the circumstances, but the appellant objects to the length of delay, particularly given his age and health".

It added that there was "no reason" why the Post Office "should not be in a position to lodge their response to the substantive grounds of appeal before the Directions Hearing and identify where there are issues that require further investigation".

There are more than 20 further cases currently being examined as potential miscarriages of justice by the CCRC.

(c) Sky News 2026: Court of Appeal rejects Post Office bid to delay Capture scandal case