The post office in the UK has always relied on an extensive network of "subpostmasters" to run local branches. These are often people who run small businesses or shops and add basic postal services such as delivering packages, selling stamps etc to an existing shop. This is especially important as a service in small towns etc.
In 1999 the government brought in Fujitsu as an IT provider and insisted these subpostmasters adopt a fujitsu-developed accounting system called "Horizon" to account for the postal activities of these shops. They then (relentlessly) investigated and prosecuted an extraordinary number of these people for fraud based on the outputs of this system, which turned out to have been reporting incorrectly based of software bugs. This was covered up. About 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted for fraud and theft and over a hundred sent to prison even though as far as I am aware there is literally no evidence other than horizon of any wrongdoing by any of them.
The facts are finally emerging and justice is starting to be done although the perpetrators of the malicious prosecutions and the coverup have so far got off and victims have still not received compensation.
The post office in the UK has always relied on an extensive network of "subpostmasters" to run local branches. These are often people who run small businesses or shops and add basic postal services such as delivering packages, selling stamps etc to an existing shop. This is especially important as a service in small towns etc.
In 1999 the government brought in Fujitsu as an IT provider and insisted these subpostmasters adopt a fujitsu-developed accounting system called "Horizon" to account for the postal activities of these shops. They then (relentlessly) investigated and prosecuted an extraordinary number of these people for fraud based on the outputs of this system, which turned out to have been reporting incorrectly based of software bugs. This was covered up. About 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted for fraud and theft and over a hundred sent to prison even though as far as I am aware there is literally no evidence other than horizon of any wrongdoing by any of them.
The facts are finally emerging and justice is starting to be done although the perpetrators of the malicious prosecutions and the coverup have so far got off and victims have still not received compensation.
Here is a slightly more extensive summary https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Post-Office-Horizon-s...