A former sub-postmaster’s conviction based on a third possible faulty Post Office system has been referred to the Court of Appeal.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said there is evidence that the organisation’s Automatic Payment Service (APS) and Automatic Payment Terminal (APT) could cause accounting errors.
Gareth Snow, the former sub-postmaster of the Corwen Post Office branch in Denbighshire, north Wales, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to false accounting in 2001.
Following a review of his case, the CCRC said it has decided that there is a real possibility the Court of Appeal will find Mr Snow’s conviction is unsafe and quash it.
It is the latest development in the Post Office’s IT scandal after last month the first conviction based on the Capture accounting software, which the organisation used before the faulty Horizon system, were referred to the Court of Appeal.
Mr Snow’s branch used APS/APT – an electronic terminal connected to the telephone lines used to carry out transactions such as rent, rates, and utility bills – which he would include in his manual account ledger.
He was interviewed by Post Office investigators after an audit of his branch in November 2000 and charged with three counts of false accounting.
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Prosecutors alleged he had falsified documents for accounting purposes, which must have been to cover a loss on the figures of more than £57,000 and Mr Snow pleaded guilty on all counts at Caernarfon Crown Court.
He applied to the CCRC in 2023 after abandoning an appeal in 2021.
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Mr Snow has admitted he falsified accounts, but said that that was because errors caused by the APT had resulted in accounting shortfalls.
CCRC Chair Dame Vera Baird KC said: “There is evidence that the APS/APT could cause accounting errors. In Mr Snow’s case, he would say that there was no evidence of any actual loss.
“While Mr Snow did not raise issues about the APS/APT at the time, accounting shortfalls were occurring that he could not explain.
“There appears to be no indication that Post Office Ltd made any attempt to investigate other possible causes.
“It will now be for the Court of Appeal to decide whether the conviction is unsafe and should be quashed.”
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The CCRC said in making its decision it considered the court’s judgment in the Horizon case, highlighting the “real similarities” with Mr Snow’s conviction.
The Horizon software has been responsible for around 1,000 wrongful convictions, while the CCRC previously said it had so far received more than 30 applications relating to pre-Horizon software including Capture.
A Post Office spokesperson said: “We continue to fully co-operate with the CCRC by supplying documents and information, where this is available, that has been requested in relation to pre-Horizon convictions.
“While we can’t comment on individual cases, we continue to support the CCRC.”
