UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to receive £600k each

Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by rajandatta on Monday September 18, 2023 @08:04PM (#37563953)

I've followed this matter a little bit as I work in the I.T. industry. I don't live in the UK and have no knowledge of the actors. The government response, including this announcement is shockingly deficient and on the low side of the impact. For a start - it only targets those who were convicted. It does not take into account all actors adversely impacted including falsely accused but not convicted. It doesn't take into account the circumstances of the victims. The government does not at all seem inclined to take any substantive action on this matter other than writing a cheque.

Open question to those in the UK closer to this - How do you see the government's response? What is the public sentiment on the matter. Does anyone have any insight why charges are not being pursued against Post Office Management in light of substantial evidence of wrong doing?

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by pipes on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @01:00AM (#37565770)

I live in the UK. It's bizarrely barely news. The scale of it is staggering yet the media coverage is small. Well it feels small to me. I don't see any public outrage about this. Part of me thinks it's because it's sort of an institution like the NHS and critisizing it is a no no (though it has been privitized).

I want to see heads roll at the post office. As far as I can remember staff knew about the software issues but covered them up. Also why wasn't the burden of proof on the software developers to prove to the court it was correct? Can the vendor be held accountable?

And lastly, the bonuses the board have paid themselves for cooperating with the enquirey, that's truly sickening. It's rotten on so many levels. It's money for sending innocent people to prison.

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by toyg on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @01:13AM (#37565831)

I think part of the reason for relative quietness is: after 30 years of privatisation drives, what is left of the Post Office is just another business with some extra regulatory burden. "Business Screwing Up" happens every day and is hardly news.

This said, thank goodness some free press still exists in the UK. Without Private Eye, these folks would never have seen even the little justice they received.

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by psd1 on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @10:13AM (#37570223)

I don't think that's really it - the public has some appetite for corporate scandal, modulo short attentive spans, and the human element really sells the story.

Unfortunately, we absolutely do have a free press here, it's just been captured by bastards who use their freedom to aid and abet other bastards. I hope hell is inventing new tortures for Murdoch and the dead Barclay.

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by jayelbe on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @02:09AM (#37566145)

The Post Office hasn't been privatised. The company is still owned by the state. Individual subpostmasters run their branches as their own semi-independent businesses using the Post Office brand - but it has always been this way in most of the country.

It's Royal Mail (the letters and parcel delivery side of things) that was privatised.

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by pipes on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @04:18AM (#37566943)

I did not know this, thanks :)

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by FridayNightTV on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @04:10AM (#37566890)

> I live in the UK. It's bizarrely barely news.

Seconded.

I'm willing to bet only Private Eye readers (where to story broke and who continue to demand justice) are aware of this debacle and the shear scale of misery it has caused; all due to software being considered infallible.

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by 15457345234 on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @05:06AM (#37567260)

Shearing is for sheep

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by FridayNightTV on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @06:23AM (#37567824)

As long as we hold onto the USENET tradition, that all posts pointing out a spelling or grammatical error must themselves contain such an error. Including punctuation.

:-)

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by Daviey on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @09:13AM (#37569491)

> the media coverage is small

I was mostly driving yesterday, and it had significant radio coverage. LBC even interviewed a former 'post-mistress' that suffered a custodial prison sentence, and was furious this compensation wasn't sufficient. She was convicted of taking £59k and she got a 9 month term (half of which was released with tag).

Considering people who lost their career, marriages, houses etc. I get it! Imagine your children thinking you are a convicted thief.

This was her, https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2021-04-23/never-thought-t...

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by PaulKeeble on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @01:23AM (#37565890)

I agree. There are a lot more victims of the Post offices crimes who paid the difference or were fired from their jobs that are not being compensated, the true scale of the problem is much larger than just those convicted.

What astonishes me about this response is that we have clear criminal action by executives in the Post Office, they knew the system was faulty and they still went ahead with the legal cases. These executives have crimes they need to be tried for in court. This is a criminal matter against the staff of the Post office and its just not being dealt with correctly at all. The Post Office should be paying a lot of people accused compensation.

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Re:UK Post Office: 700 Horizon software scandal victims to r... by AnthonyUK on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @08:44AM (#37569150)

I agree. One point that is often missed is that those same executives were financially incentivised for Horizon to work by having their £1m+ bonuses tied to it.

They need to be held accountable and jailed if found guilty.

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