British Post Office scandal
The British Post Office scandal is a series of miscarriages of justice which, between 1999 and 2015, saw over 900 subpostmasters prosecuted for theft, false accounting, and fraud for shortfalls at their branches.
In fact the postmasters were entirely innocent. The shortfalls were due to errors in the Post Office's Horizon accounting software.[1][2] The Horizon accounting system was developed by ICL Pathway, owned by the Japanese company Fujitsu.
In 1999, the Post Office started to roll out the new software to its branches and sub-post offices, the latter managed by subpostmasters on a self-employed basis under contracts with the Post Office. The contract to create the system for the Post Office and the Benefits Agency was awarded in May 1996 to ICL Pathway Limited,[3] a subsidiary created for the purpose in 1995 by British computer company ICL, which was itself majority-owned by Fujitsu of Japan.[4]
Court cases change
983 people were convicted in court; 236 got a prison sentence; In 2015, further (or more) prosecution was stopped.[5]
References change
- ↑ "Phase 2, Day 1: Opening Statement by Jason Beer KC" (PDF). Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. 11 October 2022. pp. 53, 131. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ↑ Harrison, Michael (10 May 1999). "ICL stumbles on Pathway to hell". The Independent. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ↑ "Fujitsu Services (Pathway) Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ↑ "ICL Pathway Limited: Report and Accounts". Companies House. 31 December 1996. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ↑ Kjetil Wiedswang. https://www.dn.no/kommentar/tv-dramaet-som-endret-virkeligheten/2-1-1582114. Dagens Næringsliv. Retrieved 2024-01-28
Bibliography change
- Wallis, Nick (2021a). The Great Post Office Scandal (1st ed.). Bath Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9163023-8-9.
- Jôb, Aled Gwyn (2023). Llythyr Noel (in Welsh). Gwasg y Bwthyn Cyf. ISBN 978-1913996758.
- Jôb, Aled Gwyn (2023a). The Stamp of Innocence. Troubador. ISBN 978-1805143024.
Other websites change
- Post Office Horizon Inquiry – official website
- "Post Office Mediation sub-committee". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019.
- "Hamilton & others -v- Post Office Limited". United Kingdom Judiciary. 23 April 2021. – Official finding of the April 2021 appeals, and summary
- Timeline of key events in the Horizon scandal and Other pages on the Post Office Corporate site