By Dave Putson
In the 1990’s a new IT system designed by Fujitsu was introduced to the Post Office Counters. It was called Horizon. It had been reported as a faulty computer system but it was much much worse than that. People operating “back office” systems at Fujitsu knew there were errors with “live adjustments” being made to sub post office accounts regardless of the denial of such to PO counter staff.
The human toll is simply horrendous, at least thirty Post Office Horizon victims died before receiving any justice. four, and possibly as many as thirteen suicides because of false accusations and erroneous and supposed financial irregularities. With 700 sub postmasters being given criminal convictions.
The scale of this scandal, given that some of the most senior Post Office and Fujitsu management knew of the problem and did nothing is unconscionable. From 1999 onwards almost 844 sub-postmasters and their employees were prosecuted and 705 received criminal convictions, some jailed.
Peter Holmes, a former police officer, had his conviction overturned in the Court of Appeal. You might think that this was a positive in a sea of grief, but sadly the father of three, died due to a brain tumour at at the age of 76. He never got to know that his name had been cleared. In his last years and as a consequence of this scandal he suffered from depression. His widow had no doubt the “shame” contributed to his early death.
Julian Wilson ran a Worcestershire post office, also had his conviction overturned. The conviction resulted in him being unable to work and his assets being frozen. He died of cancer before his conviction was overturned. His widow said both the illness and the investigation “broke him in the end”.
Tracy Felstead, a 19-year-old counter clerk, and thereby too junior to have had any significant role in what was perceived as a massive fraud, was accused and found herself incarcerated in a young offender’s institution.
Janet Skinner given a nine months sentence for an alleged almost £60,000 shortfall. Tom Hedges was given a seven-month suspended sentence.
Alison Hall was threatened with prosecution for theft by the Post Office, but she received a criminal record after she admitted to false accounting. Clearly, she could not understand how this had happened and did what most of us would do and decided that it was probably her mistake. How was she ever to know that senior Post Office and Fujitsu personnel knew of the system failures whilst doing nothing to correct the errors, but plough on as though nothing was wrong, destroying lives in the process.
Tim Brentnall another wrongly prosecuted for an erroneous £22,000 shortfall….
Baltjit Sethi, 69, and his wife lost everything after false accusations of financial shortfalls…Mr. Sethi raised his concerns with Post Office management, but no one expressed any interest in investigating this. Mr. Sethi ended up bankrupt.
Noel Thomas, 74, feeling he had made a mistake he could not locate, plead guilty to one count of false accounting and was jailed for nine months. He lost his role as a local councillor and was also declared bankrupt in 2008.
Seema Mistra, pregnant with her second child, was convicted of theft and jailed. She says she has been suffering for the last 15 years as a consequence of this saga. One can only speculate as to how this has impacted her relationship with that child, and the impact of that “suffering” of their mother impacted upon their attitudes and life choices??
Horizon known to be unfit for purpose
Lawyers for the victims have accused the Post Office of knowing the Horizon computer system was not fit for purpose while pressing ahead with prosecutions. While the Post Office has no special authority to prosecute it has a long-established investigations branch, which was set up over 335 years ago with powers to “investigate offences committed against the post” The Investigations Branch uses the general right in English law for any individual or organisation to pursue private prosecutions.
There was a perfunctory enquiry, but it was less than thorough in its examination of the actions of Post Office chief executive Paula Vennels and other senior managers. Twenty-five years would pass before the Post Office admitted that “it got things wrong” and agreed to settle but in only 555 case and that after protracted legal battles. Seventy-two sub-postmasters had their convictions overturned while at the same time the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of thirty-nine.
Once again, the taxpayer is coughing up at least £1 billion towards settlements. Post Office Counters Ltd, a private company, said that they could not afford to compensate their victims. How ironic! When the sub-post masters and their staff could not afford to repay the alleged missing thousands they paid with jail sentences, bankruptcies, broken families, lost homes. All this without placing any financial value on the psychological damage done to the accused, let alone the additional impacts on their families.
As of 30 June 2025, it was reported that £601 million has been paid out in compensation from the Horizon Shortfall Scheme.
There is a voluntary £75,000 fixed sum award for individuals involved in the scheme. Alternatively, others can go through the full assessment programme, presuming that they do not die before any settlement is agreed.
Incompetent management in the Post Office and Fujitsu
How you accurately assess the human cost and offer fair compensation in such a matter is virtually impossible to calculate. Lives have been obliterated, unnecessarily due to potential malevolence or incompetence at the senior levels of both the Post Office and Fujitsu. And yet, not one of those responsible has faced what they put their innocent employees through. Demanding and receiving payment for shortfalls that did not occur is after all nothing less than theft.
So, two successful private corporations, both still making vast profits, are leaving the UK taxpayer to pick up their costs in compensation. Sounds right in a broken capitalist system dedicated to profits at all costs, with the price paid by the innocent post masters, staff and all their relatives. Thirty years have passed, and things are still not resolved. There are people still waiting for their inadequate compensation, and the corporations seemingly sit hoping that more will die before a further penny is paid out.
Those responsible lack any understanding, action, insight or accountability, and being on the State’s side of the human equation, probably never will. A scandal, a disgrace, but no one is surprised. The last time an investigation was carried out in the UK and full accountability applied could possibly be as long ago as the Knabbs Wood disaster at Huskar Pit in 1838, and even then, those responsible claimed the victims were subject to “An Act of God”. Seemingly always the case in the UK.
Editor’s Note.
In 2020 a non-statutory public inquiry was set up, which was converted to a statutory enquiry in June 2021 On 8th July Sir Wyn Williams, a retired High Court judge, published volume one of his final report. Volume one focuses on the human impact of the scandal and on redress. At the time of writing it remains to be seen what action will be taken by the Labour Government on the findings of the report. On the face of it there seems to be sufficient evidence for criminal proceedings to be started against Post Office Ltd. and Fujitsu. Notwithstanding this the Horizon system is still in use in sub post offices and the contract with Fujitsu has recently been extended.
