Hundreds of victims of a software error. Incredible UK Post scandal
An incredible scandal, with very heavy personal consequences, involved the British Post Office, with hundreds of victims, many of whom saw their lives completely ruined, some ended up unjustly in prison and even suicides. An Orwellian story in which software literally condemned employees.
More than 700 branch managers and managers have received criminal convictions for defective software, called “Horizon”, which made false budget shortfalls appear in post offices. Over 72 unjustly ended up in jail. This has been described as the largest judicial error in UK history, with dozens of convictions overturned and many more awaiting redress.
Between 2000 and 2014, the post office prosecuted 736 post office executives and managers, on average one per week, based on information from the Horizon IT system that was supposed to check the office accounts. Some employees have ended up in jail as a result of convictions for false accounting and theft, many have gone bankrupt and have also seen their careers ruined and some have committed suicide. It took 20 years for this injustice to finally find its correct and meaningful ending.
Horizon was introduced into the post office network in 1999. The system, developed by the Japanese company Fujitsu, was used for activities such as transactions, accounting and cash control. Employees complained early on about system deficiencies and bugs, some of which led to errors costing thousands of pounds. Those responsible have even tried to plug the holes with their own money, at the cost of mortgaging their homes. Families have been ruined, there have even been divorces. Some employees were reported and convicted of theft.
Only at the end of 2019 did the post office admit that something was wrong with Horizon and agreed on a refund of £ 58m to 555 applicants. The Post Office had to admit that the system was not "Robust" and had defects even shortly before 2019. The judge stated that the system contained "bugs, errors and defects" and that there was a "material risk" that the shortcomings in branch accounts were caused by the system.
After this first sentence, the reviews of the criminal cases started with the reinstatement and cancellation of the sentences of 72 former post managers. In one case only 39 people were acquitted. The transactions were not accepted by many who consider them insufficient, a mockery.
Has anyone been held responsible for this scandal? No, no one paid , neither within Fujitsu nor the Post Office. However, a parliamentary investigation has started.
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The article Hundreds of victims due to a software error. Incredible scandal for the UK Post Office comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/centinaia-di-vittime-per-lerrore-di-un-software-incredibile-scandalo-per-le-poste-del-regno-unito/ on Sat, 19 Mar 2022 22:20:03 +0000.