How The Great Post Office Scandal affect it’s employees?
The Great Post Office Scandal – Horizon
There are very few podcasts that I listen to that make me mad, furious and sad at the same time. However, this month’s review has just done that. Firstly this podcast and then book called ‘The Great Post Office Scandal’ and is about the Scandal of Horizon. The Post Office computer system and their Sub-postmasters.
In the late 1990s, the Post Office* worked on developing a new computer system with a Japanese company they called ‘Horizon’. By 2013, they introduced this computer system to 11,500 local post offices to help postmasters and mistresses with their jobs, as they were undertaking circa six million transactions daily.
You are Not alone – Post Office Scandal
Unfortunately, this is when the trouble started.
Postmasters, who were highly respected members of their community, experienced several mysterious discrepancies and losses in their takings since using Horizon. They reported these discrepancies to the Post Office and received a standard reply which left them confused and baffled:
- Postmasters were informed that the Horizon system was perfect.
- Only they, as individuals, had issues with the computer system.
- Any discrepancies discovered would have to be covered by the sub-postmasters personally.
Some discrepancies amounted to thousands of pounds. Many covered this shortfall with their savings, hoping that an investigation would take place and the Post office would reimburse them for the losses. Others refused to cover the shortfall and were prosecuted by the Post office for theft, fraud and false accounting. By 2015, 918 prosecutions relied heavily on IT and evidence from Horizon.
Plead Guilty
The Post Office Scandal victims also had professionals against them. Their solicitors persuaded some sub-postmasters to plead guilty, as the evidence was overwhelming of guilt despite pleas of innocence. Those who pled guilty found that the Post Office acted with a vengeance. They came after their assets and then bankrupted them. Some went to prison, ended up divorced because of the stress and even suicide.
In 2014 forensic accounts described the Horizon Computer system as ‘Not Fit For Purpose’. While the post office held fast about the robust nature of their computer system. However, a successful class action against the Post Office by 555 individuals. Who had found each other after years of feeling isolated, destroyed professionally and mentally exhausted.
In 2019, discovered that Horizon indeed had issues, and the program, not the individual postmasters, was responsible for the discrepancies and shortfalls. Some of the convictions overturned, but the damage has already occurred, and lives have been destroyed. The Post Office Chief Executive, Nick Read (2021), announced that the Horizon system will be replaced by a cloud-based IT system. They have overturned 83 convictions, and more are expected.
Why I recommend the Post Office Scandal
I highly recommend you listen to this podcast, which is available on BBC Sounds. It shows how difficult it is for an individual to show innocence when up against a large organisation. It is a true example of how gaslighting really works and the damage it causes on a grand scale. It’s a must-listen as it tells the story in human terms. We hear from the individual affected and who they are now trying to rebuild their lives. The effect this battle has had on them, emotionally, physically and financially. Undoubtedly this destroyed lives and it’s so sad to see becuae of a computer. All because one organisation didn’t want to admit that a computer program could be wrong!
* (I am using the name Post Office, as this is a name we are all familiar with. Legally, there have
been several new names and company formations and subsidiaries).
You may also enjoy
The Book
The Great Post Office Scandal: The fight to expose a multimillion pound IT disaster which put innocent people in jail. Hard Cover by Nick Wallis.