London, Thanasis Gavos

They testified before the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee in London this morning main protagonistsvictims and perpetrators, of scandal of unjust accusations and prosecutions at the expense of thousands of officials local post offices from the central administration of the British Post Office (Post Office).

The charges against 3,500 people and prosecutions of 736 of them, who had bought the right to operate local post offices, were moves by the Post Office from 1999 to 2015. Existence was the reason fictitious accounting deficits in the accounts of said local stores.

As it turned out at the beginning of the last decade, the deficits were the product of miscalculations due to technical problems with the Horizon software of the Japanese company Fujitsu. It was the software introduced by Post Office central management in 1999 for accounting and other day-to-day tasks.

Many of the defendants had initially but in vain indicated to central management that the software suffered from technical problems. Some ended up in prison on charges of false accounting and theft, others committed suicide, hundreds are still suffering psychologically and many were financially ruined as they tried to cover the shortfalls with their own money, among other things.

The parliamentary committee held today’s session with the depositions just days after the government decided to bring forward legislation that would exonerate those involved. Prime Minister Sunak even spoke from the floor of the House of Commons about “the biggest judicial error in the history of the country”.

This government move in turn followed public outcry over the treatment of these people after the scandal was recalled by a four-episode ITV drama series in the first four days of the new year.

In their testimony, the real protagonists from the side of the victims, Alan Bates and Joe Hamilton, described the impact that the years-long adventure has had on their lives and those of their colleagues.

Mr. Bates, for whom after the drama series there are now calls to receive an honorary distinction from the state, also made it clear that despite admissions and promises he has not yet received an offer of compensation from the authorities.

Testifying for the first time before such a committee, the current head of Fujitsu in Europe Paul Patterson apologized to the victims, admitted that the Horizon software had “bugs” and also described the Japanese giant’s “moral obligation” to participate in the victim compensation program .

Post Office director since 2019 Nick Reid has admitted that if it is proven that his predecessor Paula Vennells and other executives knew and tried to cover up the mistake, then they should face sanctions.

However, he said he was ignorant of the critical issue of when it became known to Post Office management that Horizon’s local accounts could be accessed without local post office officials knowing where their out-of-pocket money ended up. the victims to cover the non-existent deficits, but also for the amount of compensation that should be given to the persecuted.

Mr Reid infuriated members of the parliamentary committee by insisting it was not his job to investigate what happened in the past, although he admitted there had been a “culture of denial” at the Post Office until recently, resulting in delays in compensation payments. .

Alongside the parliamentary committee, the independent public inquiry ordered into the case continues its work on Tuesday.

In giving evidence there, current post office undersecretary Kevin Hollinreik essentially conceded that successive governments had cut corners, even as questions arose about Horizon.

He also announced that the new law for victims will be presented “within weeks”, and that so far 2,700 victims have agreed to the offered compensation, i.e. 64% of the cases. He expressed hope that all pending cases would be settled by August.