The Post Office has provided information and guidance to its branch network regarding the Horizon issue, six years after it began “deceiving” a sub-postmaster who had repeatedly raised concerns about the issue.
After pressure from Computer Weekly and investigator Ron WarmingtonThe Post Office has finally investigated an issue first raised in June 2019 about a flaw in Horizon that could have led to unexplained shortages in accounts at branches.
This issue, referred to as a “partial cash” defect by Denis O'Donnell, a former subpostmaster, has likely seen some customers receive extra money from subpostmasters for decades without even realizing it. At the center of the problem is an icon on the Horizon screen that has two opposing purposes, allowing the subpostmaster to both take money and pay money.
Post office under new management. agreed to look into the Horizon defect earlier this month, but O'Donnell said the post office had been “deceiving” him for years on the issue. It was 2019 when he first warned the post office with letters to top executives, including the former CEO. Nick Reed And Mark DavisHead of the communications department of the post office.
O'Donnell's first letter said it “concerns a possible systemic problem.” This was at a time when Post Office system questioned by High Court judge it ended with the company admitting that Horizon's mistakes may have led to the shortcomings for which it blamed and punished subpostmasters, something it had previously denied.
After a second letter received a month later, Davis responded, writing that the post office was looking into the problem. O'Donnell continued to email and was repeatedly informed that they were looking into the matter, but the matter was never resolved.
Computer weekly disclosed the problem to Warmington at the forensic investigation firm Second Sight, which helped uncover the Horizon Post Office scandal. He said he thought it was serious enough to write to the public inquiry into the Post Office scandal and report what he had learned.
Meeting with the IT head of the post office
Following a Computer Weekly article about the defect, the situation quickly escalated: O'Donnell and Warmington met with the post office's IT chief Paul Anastassi and other executives to discuss the problem.
According to Warmington, during the meeting it became clear that the account problems being seen in branches today may be caused by this problem. He said it was only a small number today, but there were likely many more in the past.
A Post Office spokesman said: “We recognize that the problem described by Mr O'Donnell does exist and does create an inconsistency. This is not due to a technical defect in Horizon, but rather a process (user journey) issue. However, we recognize that the possibility of such an incorrect user journey still exists in the system and, if exploited, results in inconsistency.”
Warmington demanded that the post office correct the defect and “prior to this” alert subpostmasters and their employees so they could reduce the risk of future losses.
He also called on the Post Office to “recognize that this defect will cause shortages in branches for over 25 years.” Although, he said, “it is probably impossible to determine how often the problem resulted in branch losses and to whom.”
A Post Office spokesman said: “It is impossible to know the exact impact on the network and we recognize that there will be postmasters who have encountered this issue and have not raised it. But we believe the overall impact is limited.”
According to the company, the number of discrepancies for the year associated with this process is 10 out of 14,000, or 0.07% if discrepancies are made known.
“We would like to reassure your readers that the Post Office has taken this matter seriously today and our Chief Technology Officer, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Chief Operating Officer have met virtually with Mr Warmington and Mr O'Donnell twice,” the Post Office said. “We encourage any current or former postmasters who believe they may have been affected by this issue to contact us as they may be entitled to redress through a review of the Post Office process.”
O'Donnell praised new post office management for their actions to address the issue and supported Warmington's demands. “We must respect the fact that [new leadership] changed the approach to this issue,” he said. “I think what has happened in the last few months is fantastic. I think it’s a wonderful change for me because I’ve been carrying this alone for a long time.”
There was a mail scandal first published in Computer Weekly magazine in 2009.revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they faced due to accounting software. (See a timeline of Computer Weekly articles on the scandal below).
