Horizon Computer System

If you could un-invent something, what would it be?

A wholly Government owned Institution,The Post Office, with an honourable history of serving the UK public since it was established in 1606 (as the GeneralPost Office) has been brought to it’s knees, by a scandal of unprecedented proportions.

A Computer System , called “Horizon” developed by a Japanese company called Fujistsu for Post Office Counters is the precursor of this tragedy.

The Fujitsu developers invented a system, which, should ,have , on paper, been very robust. This , after all , was a well established business. Post Office services and processes surely could be well mapped out by the people responsible in the Post Office. Britain was known as a Nation of Shopkeepers, wasn’t it?

Post Office Counters basically were privately owned Retail outlets offering Postal Services at a local level run by self-employed men and women,some of whom had previously worked as valued employees of the Post Office in their careers,so were well placed to continue this service albeit in as independent business people.

A lot of the Post Office Counters Sub-postmasters and postmistress’s were indeed good at paper systems and keeping accounts.

The part I would want to univent is the fact that the Horizon system that the Post Office and Fujitsu foisted on those respectable and hard-working people was seriously flawed.

The Horizon system was not fit for purpose and should have been rejected by the Post Office Executives that signed it off. I wish it had never been invented because of the human suffering it caused.

It was so flawed,that, Fujitsu had a need to manually adjust figures without the knowledge or traceability of those running those small businesses.

These alterations went on from the introduction of Horizon in 1999 until 2015,when the Post Office stopped prosecuting in Court ,using evidence from the Horizon system as proof of fraud.

Until 2015, the Post Office denied that any alterations could be made without the sub-postmasters/postmistress knowledge.

Innocent men and women ended up in jail,many lost their livelihoods and their standing in the community.Whole families suffered from the trauma of being accused of something that in some instances they did not understand or could not account for. For some ,the trauma was so overwhelming that they took their own lives.For many, they have never been exonerated or compensated for lost money they were held accountable for because of contracts they had signed.

The Post Office and Fujitsu are now subject to an investigation ,which many think has gone on too long. The only people who have won so far are the No win, no fee lawyers who took up the case.

I just wish someone had listened and tested the system and paid attention to those who said it was not fit for purpose.

The loss and suffering it caused and the despicable behaviour that it led to by those in the Post Office that hounded and actually took money from people under false pretences (protecting the brand it was called) was shameful.

I really wish I could univent Fujitsu’s Horizon,not only did it harm people, but it brought out the worst in people.