The Post Office has apologised once again to subpostmasters after it was confirmed that a text message intended to warn branch managers of a problem preventing access to the Horizon IT system was never sent.
As reported by Computer Weekly earlier this week, about 3,000 Post Office branch counters were unable do business when they opened on 20 August because they could not log in to Horizon at the busiest time of day.
The problem was caused by a disconnect between branch systems and a Fujitsu datacentre that left subpostmasters unable to authenticate and log on to their systems. A backup datacentre was used to redirect traffic and restore branch operations by around 9.30am.
At the time, the Post Office said it had sent a “text blast” informing branches of the issue – but affected subpostmasters said they never received anything. After checking with the security provider that was asked to send the message to registered postmasters, the Post Office has now confirmed that the text alert was not sent.
“We have subsequently found out that due to human error, a text blast was not in actual fact issued to branches,” said a Post Office spokesperson.
“We have agreed a change in process with our security provider so that any text blast request will be escalated to a supervisor in the first instance. We want to apologise for the misunderstanding. We can confirm that a message was displayed on Branch Hub advising postmasters of the incident at the time.”
Confidence among branch managers about Post Office IT systems is already low. Horizon was at the heart of the Post Office scandal that saw thousands of lives ruined. Many subpostmasters lost their livelihoods and about 900 were wrongly convicted of financial crimes based on data from the error-prone system used in about 12,000 branches.
Subpostmasters have been waiting for a replacement for Horizon since a project called New Branch IT (NBIT) started in 2021, which was due to be completed in 2025. However, Computer Weekly revealed in May that NBIT will not be fully in place until 2030. Supplier Fujitsu is likely to receive another five-year contract worth up to £180m to continue support for Horizon in the meantime.
The Post Office has asked the government for nearly £1bn in additional taxpayer cash for a project that was in 2021 originally budgeted to cost £180m.
Earlier this month, the Post Office announced it is bringing in a new technology leader as it awaits funding for the troubled project. The organisation’s chief transformation officer, Chris Brocklesby, is leaving on 6 September at the end of his one-year contract, and will be succeeded on an interim basis by Andy Nice, formerly transformation director at Camelot, the company that ran the National Lottery until January 2024. Nice starts on 23 August.
The Post Office scandal was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters, including Alan Bates, and the problems they suffered due to accounting software. It’s one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history (see below timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal, since 2009).
• Also read: What you need to know about the Horizon scandal •
• Also watch: ITV’s documentary – Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The real story •