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Communications Team
Sent: Fri 07/08/2015 8:23:24 AM (UTC)
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Andrew J
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Colin Stuart,
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Paddy Fermorf
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Simon Drinkwate
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Subject: in the loop - BBC Panorama
Hello
; i As some of you will be aware, the BBC Panorama programme on the
i GRO H Horizon system, which had been planned for June, is now likely to be
H i broadcast on August 17 (a week on Monday).
I hope that following my previous emails that you feel well equipped to
‘Mark Ba answer questions on the issue. Either way, our key messages are
Communications & below. Please do pass them to your teams and as before please don't
Corporate Affairs hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like a
Director further briefing. I plan to send an update again next Friday. My direct
email is mark.r.davie:
you do have questions.
In addition if any colleagues come across/or are contacted by
postmasters with specific questions about Horizon then they should be
asked to ring NBSC so that assistance can be offered.
We have engaged robustly with the BBC on this matter and
continue to do so. While we are sorry of course that a small
number of people feel they have been treated unfairly by the
business, we have done a huge amount to get to the bottom of
their complaints. Despite this, the allegations being made are
very serious, unsubstantiated and have the potential to damage
the Post Office.
I would welcome your help in ensuring that our key messages are
cascaded to colleagues, particularly those who may get questions from
customers or postmasters (and potential new operators).
The key points to make are as follows:
° extremely serious, unsubstantiated allegations about the
Post Office and the Horizon system have continued to be
repeated over the past few years by a small number of
mainly former postmasters
. we are sorry that these people feel they have been treated
unfairly by the Post Office and we have gone to great
lengths to look at their cases
e the clear evidence we have in these cases does not support
allegations being made
. we committed to confidentiality to people who put
grievances to us, So we cannot share details about individual
cases
° what we can Say is that we do not prosecute people for
making innocent mistakes and never have
. it is right that we may take action as custodians of
customers' money where there is evidence of dishonesty
° we have demonstrated that Horizon works as it should. It
has been shown to be robust and effective in dealing with
six million transactions a day, with some 70,000 people
using it, and it is regularly audited
e if there were systemic problems with branch accounting, it
is reasonable to expect them to have been more widely
experienced across the Post Office network than the 136
individual complaints spanning more than 10 years, during
which there have been 500,000 Horizon users.
e during the past three years we have done everything and
more than we committed to do to investigate the concerns
put forward about our computer system. That was the right
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thing to do.
° we set up an independent inquiry, established a mediation
scheme and provided financial support for people to obtain
independent, professional advice.
. this work has provided overwhelming evidence that
demonstrates it was not Horizon that was responsible for
missing money in any of the branches investigated
T hope this is helpful. My team and I are very keen to answer any
questions you may have and thank you in advance for your help.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who
have taken part in the (separate!) BBC documentary about the
business, Signed, Sealed, Delivered. The final episode will be on BBC2
at 9pm last week. The programme has shown the challenges we have
as we drive towards commercial sustainability, and the great
dedication and commitment of so many colleagues across the
business. It sends an important signal about our changing business
and from a communications perspective I am very grateful indeed to
all who have featured in the programme or worked on the project.