Post Office fixes technical problem causing accounting errors in Horizon
Summary
The Post Office has identified and fixed an error in its back-office system, but has warned subpostmasters to be vigilant to avoid further problems. The problem emerged during a High Court case that was examining the Horizon system’s alleged role in subpostmasters being wrongly prosecuted and fined for accounting shortfalls. The case is part of a multimillion-pound group litigation order brought by 550 subpostmasters, which has already seen two trials, with two more planned over the next year (see timeline below for full story). Mark Baker, postmaster branch secretary at the Communication Workers Union, who helped unearth the problem, said: “The Post Office had no idea about it. “But that would be immoral and potentially illegal, so my advice to subpostmasters is: don’t settle to cash, settle centrally.” The plight of some subpostmasters was first reported in 2009, when Computer Weekly revealed that the lives of some had been turned upside-down after they were fined, sacked, made bankrupt or even imprisoned because of unexplained accounting shortfalls.