POL00407496
POL00407496
Message
From: Parsons, Andrew [/O=BOND PEARCE/OU=FIRST ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=AP6]
Sent: 01/07/2013 14:27:55
To: Rodric Williams
cc: Pheasant, Andrew [/O=BOND PEARCE/OU=First Administrative Group/cn=Recipients/cn=ajp4]; Matthews, Gavin
[/O=BOND PEARCE/OU=First Administrative Group/cn=Recipients/cn=grm1]
Subject: RE: Bugs discussed in court cases
Attachments: eCopy scanned document.pdf
Rodric
Other than Castleton and Misra, we are not aware of any litigation that has involved an allegation of an actual bug in
Horizon.
However, this is based on anecdotal discussions inside Bond Dickinson. Please bear in mind that we have handled 100s
of cases over the last 5-10 years for POL so (absent a case by case review) it's impossible to say for certain that no
SPMR alleged a Horizon bug.
We are however confident that no case in the last 2 years has involved an allegation that there is a specific flaw in
Horizon. There are a number of cases handled by our paralegal team that have been put on hold because an SPMR has
alleged problems with Horizon. These cases are suspended pending the Second Sigh report. It may be that on closer
inspection these cases reveal a specific complaint about an error in Horizon however we would need to undertake a
deeper review of each case to determine this.
On Castleton:
I've spoken to the lawyer who conducted this litigation which took place in 2007.
The case was principally about accounting records — the Horizon challenges by Castleton were generally uncoordinated
and piecemeal. It should be borne in mind that Castleton was unrepresented so there was no logical attack on Horizon.
However, at para 23 of the Judgement (see attached), there is reference to an "error in Horizon" at a branch in Falkirk. I
presume this is the “Falkirk Bug". The Court concluded that the Falkirk Bug did not affect Castleton:
"Mr. Castleton cross-examined her [Mrs Chambers from Fujitsu] about complaints from another branch, which he did not
identify. She immediately recognized the branch with confidence as being a branch at Callender Square in Falkirk. The
problem at Callender Square had, she said, arisen from an error in the Horizon system, but there was no evidence of such
a thing at Mr. Castleton's branch. I found Mrs. Chambers to be a clear, knowledgeable and reliable witness, and I accept
her evidence."
I'm still looking into Misra and will report back soon.
Kind regards
Andy
Andrew Parsons
Senior Associate
for and on behalf of Bond Dickinson LLP
Direct:
Mobile:
Fax:
Follow Bond Dickinson:
www.bonddickinson.com
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POL00407496
POL00407496
-----Original Message-----
From: Rodric Williams [mailt
Sent: 01 July 2013 14:42
To: Matthews, Gavin
Cc: Pheasant, Andrew; Parsons, Andrew
Subject: RE: Bugs discussed in court cases
Hi - is someone able to come back to me on this please?
Thanks, Rodric
-----Original Message-----
From: Rodric Williams
Sent: 30 June 2013 15:10
To: 'Gavin.Matthews,
Cc: 'Andrew.Pheasant
Subject: Fw: Bugs discussed in court cases
Gavin,
Can you please find out whether bugs in the Horizon system have ever been specifically discussed in any proceedings
your firm has run for Post Office Ltd. This would include the Agent Debt cases you handle.
Thanks, Rodric
---- Original Message -----
From: Simon Baker
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2013 05:55 PM
To: Rodric Williams
Cc: Lesley J Sewell; Alwen Lyons; Hugh Flemington
Subject: Bugs discussed in court cases
Rod
It would be helpful if we can show that horizon bugs were discussed openly in our court cases.
We know that the falkirk bug was discussed in the Misra case, can you find out if there are any other examples where
bugs have been discussed in court.
I would appreciate if you treat this as a priority. We need the answer by 3pm Monday.
Simon
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