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Draft Scope for computer experts.
1.
Post Office Ltd. provides multiple retail banking and financial services,
government and government-agency document acquisition, benefit delivery,
and post and parcel services on behalf of a number and variety of State and
private sector clients,’ to members of the public. These services are provided
through over 350 Crown Offices? and some 11,500 sub-post office branches’.
The service is delivered through the Horizon Online* accounting system, a
point-of-sale and back-office accounting system which records all transactions
conducted at every post office counter across the country. Each counter-
position in every post office is provided with a Horizon Online terminal and
each counter clerk is provided with their own unique password and secret Log-
in code.° There are approximately 68,000 Horizon Online users conducting
millions of transactions on a daily basis. All transactions conducted through
the counter-position or using in-post office interfaced equipment © are
processed through Horizon Online. It has been suggested that over 50 billion
such transactions have been conducted using Horizon Online and _ its
predecessor system, Horizon.
Horizon Online is designed to store all data in an on-line database known as
the Branch Database, an Oracle Database implemented using Oracle Real
Application Cluster RAC.
As the result of increasing concerns raised by Horizon Online, in particular
that the system was not functioning as it should and had produced
1 e.g. Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency; Passport Office; Benefits Agency; Royal Mail Group; TV Licensing;
Santander; Bank of Ireland; Vodaphone; EE; etc.
2 City and major town ‘high street’ branches owned and operated by Post Office Ltd.
3 Usually an independent business contracted to Post Office Ltd. to provide Post Office Ltd.’s services.
* Introduced in January 2010 in succession to Horizon.
5 Changed monthly by Horizon Online prompt.
£e.g. ATM cash dispensers; ‘Post & Go’; PayPoint; etc.
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unexplained false balances and other unresolved shortages in post offices,’ in
2012® Post Office Ltd. commissioned Second Sight Support Services Ltd.
°(“Second Sight”) to enquire into the alleged problems. Second Sight’s interim
report was published on the 14" July 2013. They concluded that there were no
system-wide problems with the Horizon Online software but, inter alia,
identified three previously undisclosed defects, or “bugs” which had affected
the functionality of Horizon Online.
Although these defects were corrected, the disclosure that such defects
existed provided those who challenged the integrity of Horizon Online with
compelling evidence that the system was not as robust as Post Office Ltd. had
claimed.’° Prior to the publication of the Second Sight Interim Report, Post
Office Ltd. had issued statements supporting the integrity and robustness of
Horizon Online."
Nevertheless, criticism of Horizon Online persists, and until the position is
determined in a robust and authoritative way it is almost impossible to
prosecute those alleged to have stolen from or defrauded Post Office Ltd. or
to seek the civil recovery of shortages for which sub-postmasters are
contractually liable. In every case, those accused of criminal conduct and
those from whom Post Office Ltd. seeks to recover shortages through civil
7 Often by those alleged to have stolen or defrauded Post Office Ltd. of monies.
® Prior to the commissioning of the Second Sight Report a number of complainants had prevailed upon
their Members of Parliament to raise the issue of Horizon Online’s integrity in the House.
® Second Sight describe themselves as “....specialists in the fields of Investigation; Loss Management;
Forensic Computer Analysis; Process Analysis and Repair; Problem Identification and Elimination;
Engineering and Operations Error-reduction Disciplines...”
1° Indeed Parliament remains taxed with the issue: both the Second Sight Interim Report and Post Office
Ltd.’s response have been discussed in the House and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for State for
Business, Innovation and Skills has made a statement to the House indicating that Horizon Online is
fundamentally sound.
1 Often by expert witness statement in criminal proceedings brought by POL against alleged dishonest
sub-postmasters. Defendants often asserted that losses were due to the improper and unexplained
malfunctioning of Horizon Online rather than to their dishonesty; these expert witness statements were
intended to convey to the court that such assertions were incorrect: Horizon Online had functioned as it
should.
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litigation, require Post Office Ltd. to exclude Horizon Online as being the
source of such losses or shortages. "?
6. Accordingly, Post Office Ltd. intend to commission experts of the highest
calibre and reputation to provide a definitive report based upon the following
work, to be undertaken by the experts and reported upon:
a. A full analysis of the hardware and software making up the ‘global’
Horizon Online system, so as to determine whether those elements of
the system are appropriate to their function.
b. A consideration of the programing of the system so as to determine:
i.the function each aspect of the programming was intended to
accomplish;
ii. whether the programing achieves that functionality; and
iii. and that it does so without defect or error, securely, robustly
and with integrity.
c. Aconsideration of the multiple interfaces through which Horizon Online
executes third-party transactions.
22 In the criminal arena the prosecutor (Post Office Ltd.) has a positive and unavoidable duty to disclose to
the defendant any material which may undermine Post Office Ltd.’s case or might assist the defence case
— any material which suggests that Horizon Online was not, or may not be, functioning properly meets
that duty.
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d. Aconsideration of the defect history of Horizon Online.
e. An analysis of the presently-installed defect detection, identification
and corrections systems, commenting on whether they are sufficient
and appropriate to the task.
f. Where indicated, provide recommendation as to improvements.
g. Provide a validated opinion as to the present integrity of the system.
7. It is intended that the report:
a. will lay to rest the present concerns relating to the integrity of Horizon
Online;
b. provide a platform upon which, on a case by case basis, a separately-
instructed forensic analyst may found his opinion in answer to any
challenges to the integrity of Horizon Online raised by a defendant in
future criminal proceedings;
c. will be published by Post Office Ltd. to the extent required to achieve
the aim set out at 8 below.
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8. The ultimate purpose of Post Office Ltd. in commissioning this study is to
achieve a position whereby Parliament, the courts, employees and agents of
Post Office Ltd. and the general public may have complete faith in the integrity
of Horizon Online. To this end it is proposed that the work, findings and
conclusions be revisited on a regular (bi-annual or annual) basis so as to
achieve this aim on a continuing footing.
Simon Clarke 17" September
2013
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