Post Office scandal

Heads must roll here!

Here in the UK (United Kingdom) there started, in 1999, a scandal that continues to this day (2024). It has been called the largest miscarriage of justice and corporate mismanagement in UK history as more and more incredible facts fall from this ongoing story. My personal feeling is that heads must role, "honours" be revoked and prison time (corporate maleficence and perverting the course of justice) set for some, followed by disbarment from managerial role(s). Alan Bates, a former sub-postmaster who fought back and coalesced his fellow Post Office victims into a credible and effective lobby group said  the Post Office was run by "thugs in suits" and, for a second time, refused a Post Office compensation offer, though did accept a Knighthood bestowed by King Charles III for exemplary public service; and from Sir Richard Branson an offer to host Sir Alan's wedding on his Caribbean island of Necker. As things stand now, after a public enquiry and establishment of rules for compensation settlements, Sir Alan is scathing about progress and said the scheme has become "a gravy train" for its administrative lawyers - no change there then!

Born in the defective bowels of a system from Japan's Fujitsu company, it's errors and software bugs were blamed on the Post Office workers using it; all were blamed, some were jailed, some died and all are still to see a resolution to a political, corporate and legal conspiracy of hostility, denial, corporate maleficence and lying.

At the core of this saga is Fujitsu software errors, compounded by senior management at the Post Office who opted to blame and then prosecute the users of the system, despite the head of the Post Office (Paula Vennells) being told directly as far back as 2013 of these problems; thereby setting in train years of trouble for all concerned and death for some.

£100,000,000.00 has been wasted fighting sub-postmasters, who for years protested their (actual) innocence, even though the Post Office knew of flaws and backdoors into the Horizon system for Fujitsu software engineers (and bad actors). They put their head in the sand, instructed other legal entities to put sub-postmasters through hell to push the problem(s) away,  thereby hanging on to their bloated salaries. Absolutely disgusting behaviour!

This will rumble on "forever", with each corporate and political component blaming each other (into the long grass of retirement), but if you wish to gain a better overview of the scandal here are a few good places to start. This story is truly jaw-dropping.

The scandal explained

Critical praise for Mr Bates Vs The Post Office

Background details relating to the dramatized story

BBC Podcasts

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office (Only available to watch in the UK) rocked the perception of the Post Office management "organised crime group", affecting not only employees but actors portraying them.

Update 17th Feb 2024: The case against the Post Office has been proved, the victims idetified, yet very little, if anything, has improved for many of them, for the "pass the problem" phase of this fiasco has commenced. Whilst many victims wait to have their degrees of sufferance and loss evaluated, in order to decide upon their "compensation", government and those involved, with a view to minimising their degree of exposure to blame are arguing amongst themselves. So far the only people who have benefited from this disgrace are "the lawyers".

Update 20th Feb 2024: It is now publicly apparent that David Cameron's government knew David Cameron's government knew more than they have ever revealed. They knew of a 2016 internal investigation into the scandal and of Fujitsu's backdoor into their flawed Horizon system, then the investigation was aborted. This revelation is being seen by some as lying at the highest level of government (in order to underline a belief that Cameron still cannot be trusted and by association, neither can Prime Minister Rishi?)

Update 29th Mar 2024: The UK business and trade committee says the Post Office is not fit to run its own Horizon compensation scheme as they are in disarray, whilst some politicians are calling for a police enquiry, with prosecution and prison terms to follow for people complicit in this national scandal. 

Update 9th Apr 2024: Post Office run by thugs in suits.

Update 16th Apr 2024: Post mortem continues.

Update 29th Jun 2024: Fujitsu software engineer has his day but what did we learn from that?

Update 29th Jul 2024: Finally, those that haven't died or settled, there is some closure.

Final entry 30th Jul 2024: As the Post Office scandal investigation continues, the lying and wringing of hands continues, as it will do so for years, such is the self serving machinations of British law practitioners, whilst rightful recipients of agreed compensation await their payment. One person said, "I think the Post Office is waiting for us to die", whilst another (Oct 2024) is demanding they "Just pay up".

There will be no satisfactory resolution for the hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters whose lives and careers where wrecked, so that those responsible for the grievously flawed Horizon system could avoid corrective and expensive action(s). Fujitsu are no-where to be seen, which seems odd as they built the system and literally for years and years collected their cash but did not fix it.

In my common parlance, this was a cluster-fuck of the highest order. Shame on you all.