Post Place of work Horizon IT scandal inquiry: Two years of homely revelations
The statutory public inquiry into the Post Place of work scandal has long gone rather no longer noted over the previous two years, nonetheless in that time, those au fait with the case have been terrified on an nearly everyday basis.
The airing of ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Place of work drama and accompanying documentary lastly build the scandal centre stage within the public discourse and it’s now getting the eye it deserves.
Laptop Weekly has been following the inquiry because it began listening to evidence in Also can fair 2022. Right here, we list just some of the studies that manufacture critical finding out for folks that are rather new to the UK’s widest-ever miscarriage of justice.
When at the initiating house up as a executive division inquiry without the energy to call witnesses, there used to be outrage and accusations of whitewashing. But following strain from subpostmasters and their supporters, the inquiry used to be positioned on a statutory footing, with a mediate in payment and the energy to call witnesses to give evidence.
To this level, there have been four phases of the inquiry, chaired by retired mediate Wyn Williams. It began with the victims telling their reviews. This used to be adopted in October 2022 by part two, which observed an investigation into the Horizon IT machine, its procurement, make, pilot, roll-out and changes. Then, on the starting of 2023, came part three, with the operation of the Horizon machine below the spotlight. The sole within the near previous concluded fourth part, which began listening to evidence in July 2023, shone the spotlight on the practices of the legal professionals and investigators concerned regarding the prosecutions of subpostmasters.
Each installment has produced homely evidence that has uncovered barely likely malfeasance on the segment of a British establishment, as soon as regarded fondly.
Laptop Weekly first uncovered the scandal in 2009, revealing the reviews of seven subpostmasters, and has adopted it carefully ever since.
Inquiry chair Wyn Williams has been listening to evidence since Also can fair 2022.
Portion one – February 2022
Portion one of the inquiry heard search statements from the victims of the scandal.
Outmoded subpostmasters, their lives devastated after being held liable for unexplained accounting, went by draw of the painful skills of getting to relive harrowing periods of their lives.
This used to be about two years sooner than a dramatisation of their remedy build the Post Place of work scandal into public discourse and political debate.
When the drama used to be aired in January 2024, the public outrage used to be palpable, nonetheless it did now not showcase anything new. What it did showcase used to be that the written be aware, of which Laptop Weekly has written many hundreds regarding the scandal since 2009, used to be no longer enough to decide on the eye of the public. The drama did.
The drama used to be in step with real lives – lives destroyed.
Right here are the total recordings of evidence given to the inquiry by victims of the scandal telling their reviews.
Portion two – October 2022
The Post Place of work scandal began with the procurement of Horizon instrument within the 1990s, after John Fundamental’s executive agreed to the public finance initiative (PFI) care for ICL, later got by Fujitsu. Subpostmasters had been promised the machine would manufacture their lives less complicated.
Automating accounting processes all the draw by draw of hundreds of branches used to be a logical step within the computer age, nonetheless the procurement and make of a machine that used to be, on the time, the supreme non-navy IT mission within the UK used to be anything nonetheless logical.
Warning signs had been uncared for all the draw by draw of negotiations, which continued below Tony Blair’s premiership, and the subpostmasters within the waste paid the value.
At the waste of part two of the inquiry, Sam Stein KC, representing used subpostmasters, asked whether the scandal used to be the effects of a “cock-up or put collectively dinner-up”.
Issues from the originate
At some stage in an inquiry listening to in October 2022, Anthony Oppenheim, used business and finance director at ICL Pathway, which used to be the company house up by ICL/Fujitsu to speed the Horizon mission, acknowledged complications with the Post Place of work Horizon IT machine reported sooner than its roll-out must have been regarded as a “showstopper”, nonetheless weren’t.
The roll-out of Horizon must have stopped until reported complications had been mounted, and subpostmasters having nervousness balancing their books must have been given “the benefit of the doubt”, he suggested the listening to.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe from the inquiry listening to about complications reported with the Post Place of work’s Horizon IT machine sooner than its roll-out must have been regarded as a “level to-stopper”.
- Learn about Anthony Oppenheim’s evidence to the inquiry.
Premonition of Horizon tragedy
The final public inquiry observed paperwork that published the feedback to the Post Place of work after stay trials observed Horizon speed in 300 offices in 1999. There have been serious concerns over the instrument, which used to be causing “difficulties and trauma” for subpostmasters struggling to steadiness their accounts.
Outmoded Post Place of work Horizon programme director David Miller acknowledged that in a assembly with the National Federation of Subpostmasters (NFSP) executive in 1999, there used to be a total dialogue on the excessive difficulties being skilled by subpostmasters.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe from the inquiry listening to about how trials of the Horizon computer machine in Post Place of work branches in 1999 resulted in a warning from subpostmasters that instrument complications intended “a tragedy used to be no longer some distance away”.
- Learn about David Miller’s evidence to the inquiry.
Horizon developers had been a ‘shaggy dog myth’
The teams establishing the instrument had been lower than scratch and had been thought of “the shaggy dog myth of the constructing” at Fujitsu/ICL UK.
At some stage within the questioning of Terence Austin, used programs programme director at ICL Pathway, it emerged that a taskforce used to be house up to study complications in Horizon’s digital level of sale service (EPOSS) pattern. The taskforce reported that whoever wrote the code “had no working out of classic arithmetic or the most classic guidelines of programming”.
Procedure developer David McDonnell suggested the inquiry that, when he arrived, the EPOSS pattern team used to be “esteem the Wild West” with “no requirements, an absence of guidelines and no make”.
He acknowledged the team used to be “the shaggy dog myth of the constructing”.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe from the inquiry on how Horizon machine code writers lacked classic programming abilities, in step with the taskforce house up to study reported complications with the controversial instrument.
- Read how the team working on controversial Post Place of work Horizon EPOSS instrument used to be the ‘shaggy dog myth of the constructing’.
- Learn about Terance Austin’s evidence to the inquiry.
Hardball negotiation left subpostmasters vulnerable
Hardball negotiations between the executive, the Post Place of work and ICL, which used to be got by Fujitsu, intended subpostmasters had been uncared for and thrown into a tragedy that could per chance well have been averted.
Outmoded Post Place of work Counters managing director Stuart Sweetman suggested the inquiry the executive used to be playing hardball since the Post Place of work had extracted relatively a valid deal from it.
He used to be asked about a Horizon Working Neighborhood assembly in June 1999, the put it used to be acknowledged that no topic serious complications, there used to be no query of suspending or delaying the mission.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe from the inquiry on how playing a sport of ‘hardball’ in Horizon negotiations left subpostmasters uncovered to tragedy.
- Learn about Stuart Sweetman’s evidence to the inquiry.
Confirmation bias
Post Place of work investigators had been so happy that subpostmasters had been cooking the books that they did now not study alleged IT complications.
Jeremy Folkes, used senior tech lead on the Post Place of work, suggested the inquiry there used to be an working out in investigation teams that there have been concerns over the accounting machine integrity, nonetheless they had been uncared for attributable to oldsters within the investigations and prosecutions facet within the Post Place of work had confirmation bias.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe on how confirmation bias led the Post Place of work to prosecute subpostmasters without investigation.
- Learn about Jeremy Folkes’ evidence to the inquiry.
Stress from Japan
The inquiry heard how the Horizon mission grew to vary into a foreign affairs discipline for the UK. Stress used to be positioned on the UK executive by IT seller Fujitsu to signal off the contract when it used to be in doubt.
In 1998, the British embassy in Tokyo wrote to the UK executive warning it of critical economic repercussions, alongside side UK job losses, could per chance serene the contract with the Post Place of work be cancelled.
At some stage within the inquiry listening to, used civil servant David Sibbick acknowledged there used to be “relatively so a lot” of time strain coming from Fujitsu to safe the contract performed.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe on how a telegram from the British Embassy in Tokyo to UK executive build strain on ministers to signal off controversial Horizon contract.
- Learn about David Sibbick’s evidence to the inquiry.
Federation failed its participants
Portion of the disaster for subpostmasters is that they by no draw knew of the complications within the background until they had been struck by them. The National Federation of Subpostmasters (NFSP) didn’t back. The organisation that used to be speculated to signify subpostmasters deliberately suppressed files about computer errors.
Colin Baker, used NFSP total secretary, acknowledged the organisation wished the public to judge the Horizon mission “used to be gorgeous”.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s inquiry describe on how the NFSP saved significant aspects of computer complications serene.
- Learn about Colin Baker’s evidence to the inquiry.
Post Place of work boosted its coffers
The final public inquiry heard how the Post Place of work made financial features when it pressured subpostmasters to pay for losses of their branches that had been triggered by computer errors.
Outmoded NFSP president John Peberdy suggested the inquiry the Post Place of work used to be bright to safe subpostmasters to quilt accounting shortfalls with their devour money, rather than resolve what had triggered them.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s inquiry describe on how the Post Place of work boosted its ‘coffers’ by draw of forcing subpostmasters to quilt unexplained shortfalls.
- Learn about John Peberdy’s evidence to the inquiry.
Portion three – January 2023
Practically a one year after the statutory public inquiry began, part three moved it to the operation of the Horizon machine. This used to be a mountainous, advanced machine sharp the interplay of computer hardware, telecoms connections and other instrument programs, and it used to be being launched to users who largely had diminutive or no skills of computers.
Closing part three, Ed Henry KC, representing Post Place of work victims, acknowledged the scandal used to be “as unlit a chapter in our governmental, corporate and factual ancient previous as could per chance even be imagined, and sadly, it’ll safe darker yet”.
‘Hail the almighty Horizon’
At the starting of part three, the inquiry heard that the Post Place of work sent messages to team designed to reassure them that the Horizon accounting machine used to be tough, after Laptop Weekly first published complications in 2009.
Senior Post Place of work executives suggested team as segment of its interior messaging no longer to tell complications triggered by Horizon. Shaun Turner, a used senior executive working within the Post Place of work National Industry Improve Centre (NBSC), which supported subpostmasters the usage of Horizon, suggested the Post Place of work inquiry he used to be aware “as a total theme” of the topic in Post Place of work that if the complications had been identified it would trigger an absence of confidence in Horizon. He acknowledged he had this view “largely from the messaging that used to be popping out of the commerce”.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe from the inquiry having a behold at how the Post Place of work’s most senior executives hushed up Horizon errors.
- Learn about Shaun Turner’s evidence to the inquiry.
Unrestricted, unaudited, unbelievable
The Post Place of work used to be prosecuting folks in step with files from the Horizon machine, files that must be 100% faithful. Yet team within the Fujitsu strengthen centre had unaudited safe entry to to subpostmaster accounts and could per chance serene manufacture adjustments without their files.
Stephen Parker, a used supervisor at Fujitsu’s Procedure Improve Centre, acknowledged team remotely accessing branch programs merely relied on them being faithful and following the safe entry to policy, without a policing of their exercise.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe from the inquiry about Fujitsu’s ‘unrestricted and unauditable’ some distance away safe entry to to Post Place of work branch programs.
- Learn about Stephen Parker’s evidence to the inquiry.
‘Toxic, racist and rudderless’
The folks working within the strengthen centres reported a toxic tradition with heart-broken management as well to just a few experiencing racism everyday.
IT consultant Amandeep Singh worked at ICL on the Post Place of work’s Horizon helpdesk in Wakefield, Yorkshire, from 2000 to 2001. He suggested the inquiry that the helpdesk operation he used to be segment of used to be rudderless, resentful, racist and undertrained to back subpostmasters. There used to be additionally a conference of no longer trusting the subpostmasters, he acknowledged.
- Read more regarding the chaotic Fujitsu Horizon helpdesk on this Laptop weekly describe from the inquiry.
- Learn about Amandeep Singh’s evidence to the inquiry.
Celebrating miscarriages of justice
The Post Place of work used its factual teams and exterior legal professionals to shut subpostmasters up and abolish them. Seema Misra, used subpostmaster in Byfleet, Surrey, used to be sent to jail in 2010 after being wrongly prosecuted for theft.
At some stage within the questioning of used Post Place of work executive Rod Ismay, within the most fresh Post Place of work Horizon scandal public inquiry listening to, evidence emerged of the gleeful response of Jarnail Singh, used head of prison law on the Post Place of work, after the organisation defeated Misra in court over her challenges to the reliability of the Horizon accounting machine.
Whitewash Horizon describe
In 2010, amid claims subpostmasters had been being blamed and prosecuted for accounting shortfalls triggered by the Horizon machine, the Post Place of work commissioned an interior describe on its performance. The inquiry used to be suggested the describe lacked objectivity and its blueprint from the outset used to be to give the instrument an attractive bill of successfully being.
There have been no terms of reference for the describe, which used to be instigated by then Post Place of work managing director David Smith, nonetheless it used to be made skedaddle to the pinnacle of product and branch accounting (P&BA) Rod Ismay, who used to be tasked with polishing off the describe, that he could per chance serene factual describe on “certain causes to be assured about Horizon” to give an attractive bill of successfully being to the instrument.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s inquiry describe regarding the ‘whitewash’ investigation.
- Learn about Rod Ismay’s evidence to the inquiry.
Portion 4 – July 2023
Portion four of the statutory public inquiry ran for six months, punctuated by delays as a results of the Post Place of work’s failure to tell files in a successfully timed formulation. Darkly ironic because the part used to be investigating the Post Place of work’s factual practices when prosecuting subpostmasters, which integrated failure to tell files to subpostmaster defence teams. The part must be seen within the context that over 100 subpostmasters have had wrongful prison convictions overturned, with about 800 more house to be quashed en masse when executive legislation completes its trudge by draw of Parliament.
Summarizing part four, Tim Moloney KC representing used subpostmasters acknowledged the part had laid the ground for the very real prospect that used Post Place of work team and folks supporting the Post Place of work at exterior companies could per chance face prison investigation themselves. He acknowledged: “At worst, [their] actions now, as maybe factual a starting level, lay some witnesses launch to rigorous prison investigation.”
Changing reviews
The inquiry heard that, in 2003 educated IT search Jason Coyne used to be asked to state on the Horizon machine as segment of a dispute between a subpostmaster and the Post Place of work. In his fair describe, which used to be ordered by the mediate, he acknowledged there have been skedaddle complications with the skills. The Post Place of work tried to persuade him that he used to be contaminated about Horizon. When he refused to alternate his observation, it dropped its case with the subpostmaster and paid her off in a non-disclosure agreement.
Portion four heard from used Post Place of work auditor Helen Rose who used to agonize about a factual battle with used subpostmaster Lee Castleton, who used to be made bankrupt after annoying the Post Place of work in court after it blamed him for unexplained accounting shortfalls. She produced a search observation in court that differed from her long-established audit describe, which used to be counseled to Castleton. In her search observation she acknowledged he had been ingesting on the time of the audit, nonetheless in her audit describe did now not level out this.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe about how Helen Rose changed her myth for search observation used to abolish subpostmasters.
- Learn about Helen Rose’s evidence in part four of the inquiry.
No discipline for welfare of subpostmasters
The Post Place of work’s significant consideration used to be to “shield the integrity of its [IT] machine” when taking subpostmasters to court over unexplained accounting shortfalls, and no longer the subpostmasters’ welfare, in step with a Fujitsu memo written within the aftermath of the court battle with Lee Castleton.
In the memo, used Fujitsu IT educated Anne Chambers wrote that the Post Place of work used to be no longer bright about getting to the underside of reported complications with the Horizon computer machine attributable to it wished to give protection to its reputation.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe about a Fujitsu memo that acknowledged the Post Place of work had no hobby in subpostmaster welfare.
- Learn about Anne Chambers evidence to the public inquiry.
Robotic reminiscence failure
Memory loss has been a generally recurring theme in part four of the public inquiry. The selective recollections of the legal professionals and investigators concerned regarding the prosecution of subpostmasters used to be by no draw clearer than within the evidence of used Post Place of work attorney Mandy Talbot. She used to be nicknamed “the Post Place of work’s very devour irascible robotic” by a barrister representing victims of the scandal.
- On this Laptop Weekly describe, read more about how Talbot’s amnesia hid the names of folks within the back of Post Place of work technique.
- Learn about Mandy Talbot’s evidence to the inquiry.
What search observation?
Elaine Cottam, used retail line supervisor on the Post Place of work, suggested the public inquiry that, no topic getting signed a search observation for exercise in court, she has no recollection of writing it. The search observation used to be for exercise by the Post Place of work in a factual dispute with one of the over 100 branches she oversaw in her blueprint.
At some stage within the listening to, Cottam denied any files of the case and acknowledged she didn’t model why she used to be giving evidence on the inquiry.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe on Elaine Cottam’s evidence in part four.
- Learn about Elain Cottam’s evidence to part four of the inquiry.
‘They’re all crooks’
When Gary Thomas used to be asked why he used to be happy he had saved his approved investigation papers he acknowledged: “I are attempting to showcase that there’s now not a FFFFiiinnn [sic] ‘Case for the Justice of Thieving Subpostmasters’ and that we had been the most attention-grabbing investigators they ever had and additionally they had been all crooks!!”
The subpostmasters he used to be referring to went on to showcase, within the Excessive Court, that the Horizon machine used to be error-prone and pressured the executive to place a statutory public inquiry into the Post Place of work Horizon scandal.
- Read Laptop Weekly’s describe on used Post Place of work investigator labelling subpostmaster campaigners ‘crooks’.
- Learn about Gary Thomas’s evidence in part four of the inquiry.
Portion five and six – April 2024
Portion five and six of the inquiry, attributable to originate this month, guarantees to be the most revelatory of all, that contains, to title just a few, used Post Place of work CEO Paula Vennells, Liberal Democrat birthday celebration leader Ed Davey, civil servants and all of it kicks off with Alan Bates, the used subpostmaster who led the fight for justice.
