Who is to blame? The saga will go on, each drop of evidence forensically screened by government and media but no one will bring back the normal ordinary lives of the sub-postmasters. They have featured in a television show describing the awful time they went through as they were accused of stealing sums from the post office. A computer programme called Horizon that went wrong and then the subsequent cover-up by a whole host of people?
Was the fault so enormous in the Fujitsu system that no one dared to call it out, like the little boy who shouted out 'the Emperor has no clothes on'. The vast amount of monies spent could not be lost in a truth needing to be told, no the small people had to suffer for this big mistake.
2019 is the date the courts finally agreed that the Horizon system was faulty, it had been working since 1999! The Post Office needing to defend the system through this time sent a load of private investigators, probably inexperienced, and the mounting prosecutions through the courts was a disaster to many an innocent person.
The moral of the story - do not believe that computer programmes have the answer to all truths and don't bully the little person, because in the end when truth does out - hell has no fury like the wrath of fair minded people to see justice done.
Note: haven't watched the programme yet, it will probably make me too angry.
Great minds think alike! I've just written about computers on my blog!
ReplyDeleteWe have politicians here who have not the courage of that little boy. No one wants to say that their emperor is naked. And stupid. And dangerous.
ReplyDeleteAll that is needed for evil to flourish is for good (wo)men to be silent.
They have all lied right the way through. I too have not watched it because I don't want to be more angry than I already am.
ReplyDeleteSuch a tragedy to ruin the lives of hard working people with false cause.
ReplyDeleteThe couple who walked away from our local Post Office 5 years ago have now revealed that Horizon was the reason They said that in 16 years here their till never balanced and, although not prosecuted, they had to make up the difference themselves. One fault was that if you pressed Return twice, such as when the system froze, it silently registered two transactions. Our village has since had no Post Office. So those who live here are all victims too.
ReplyDeleteWe listened in horror but not surprise (my husband was a IT systems analyst for the NHS) to the investigative series on R4 and have also watched the TV programme. Sadly it came as no great surprise to see the lying and shifting of blame. Our village postmistress in Devon was sent to prison because of Horizon. She lost her freedom, her reputation, her home and her livelihood and the village lost its Post Office and shop. I only hope that she and her husband get a decent amount of compensation.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments everyone. Your answers highlight the damage that was done, the cowardice by those in power not to face up to this terrible deed should be punished.
ReplyDeleteHaving worked in IT for many years and seen the many and varied disasters that computer systems are capable of, I am somewhat surprised that the Horizon system was allowed to be rolled out across Post Offices when these flaws must have been glaringly obvious during acceptance testing. I can only assume that there had been too much political capital invested in the system to countenance any delay or change, and in this case then the Post Office management must take the blame. There must have been people involved in the rollout who were aware of the problems, but chose to keep quiet, probably for fear of losing their jobs if they rocked the boat.
ReplyDeleteWhat is sad is that management conspired against people similar to themselves and caused so much misery Will.
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