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POST OFFICE HORIZON IT SYSTEM
Post Office Ltd (POL) introduced the Horizon IT system throughout the network (c50,
000 counter positions) in 2000. The Government provided c£500m to fund it. Horizon
provides an automated accounting system which records every transaction effected
over every post office counter position across the network.
Under their contracts with POL, subpostmasters (spms) are wholly responsible for
safe custody of all cash, stamps and other post office stock with face value and this
responsibility extends to the actions of all staff they employ. Since Horizon’s
introduction, there has been a small trickle of cases referred to Ministers from or on
behalf of former spms who have had their contracts terminated by POL for financial
‘discrepancies or shortages’ (falling within the range of theft, false accounting or
negligence) who have claimed that there are systemic faults with Horizon which have
caused the losses rather than theft or other financial malpractice by themselves or
members of their staff/family.
POL has consistently defended Horizon on the basis that the system has been in
place for over 10 years; in a typical month Horizon conducts around 80 million
customer sessions with 230 million transactions across the system. This is delivered
through around 35,000 counter positions in nearly 12,000 Post Offices which perform
weekly and monthly accounting balances. Around £175m per day is settled to over
700 client companies who use POL — a substantial flow of data to and from
organisations with regularly audited accounts. Over its extensive period of operation
the system has proved robust.
POL cites the cases identified by ex-spms where there is some kind of allegation in
respect of Horizon as being a miniscule proportion of the many millions of accounting
events that subpostmasters have undertaken since 2000. POL believes that if there
were any systematic integrity issues within the system they would have been evident
over the past 10 years. Both the NFSP and CWU have expressed full confidence in
the system.
Accordingly POL has consistently and publicly expressed full confidence in the
robustness, integrity and accuracy of Horizon and long resisted periodic calls from
former spms for an independent review/audit of the integrity of the system. A lobbying
campaign group ‘Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance ‘(JFSA) was established in 2009
and claims a membership of around 100 members but details only 14 specific cases.
The JFSA Chairman, Alan Bates, met Ed Davey in October 2010 and Norman Lamb in
June 2012 to voice their concerns about Horizon.
In 2010, the JFSA ‘sponsored’ the initiation of legal action against POL by 5 former
spms alleging wrongful termination of contract based on failings in POL’s internal
processes and the Horizon system. This legal process has proceeded extremely
slowly with the solicitors acting for the claimants very dilatory in progressing them.
Against this background, ED and NL adopted an essentially ‘listening’ mode
emphasising that Government had no role in operational and contractual issues
raised by the JFSA.
Shortly ahead of NL meeting the JFSA, there was a significant new development
following a meeting between POL and a small group of MPs who have ex
subpostmaster constituents claiming to be victims of faults with Horizon. The MP
group was led by James Arbuthnot and included Oliver Letwin, Mike Wood, Annette
Brooke, Tessa Munt, Andrew Bridgen + 3 MPs’ (Graham Stuart, Jonathan Djanogly,
Edward Garnier) researchers. At a meeting on 18 June, POL agreed to commission
an independent external review of a small number of individual cases.
It was agreed that this review would be conducted by a firm of forensic accountants,
with cases being selected and put forward for review by James Arbuthnot MP who
agreed with POL that he would act as the conduit for cases referred by fellow MPs so
that the choice was made independently of POL. However as POL are keeping an
arm’s length distance from the review, we do not have a Clear indication of how many
cases have been/will be put forward for review and what the expected timescale for
the results is.
In response to any enquiries to Ministers/the Dept about individual cases being put
forward for review, the replies explain that any cases should be referred to James
Arbuthnot MP for consideration through their constituency MP.
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