Former Post Office Executive Regrets Missed Chance to Prevent Horizon Scandal

David Miller, a former director at the Post Office, expressed remorse over a missed opportunity to address the Horizon IT scandal during his tenure as chief operating officer in 2004.

At the public inquiry into the scandal, Miller admitted that he failed to read an expert report by Jason Coyne which highlighted issues with the Horizon accounting system in the case of then sub-postmistress Julie Wolstenholme.

The Horizon system, operated by Fujitsu, had bugs and errors that made it appear as though money was missing from sub-postmasters' branches. This led to the wrongful prosecution and conviction of hundreds of sub-postmasters for theft and false accounting, resulting in prison sentences and financial ruin for many of the victims. Some sub-postmasters even took their own lives as a result of the scandal.

Miller acknowledged that by not reading the Coyne report and the counsel's advice, there was a missed chance to address the problems with the Horizon system early on. The inquiry heard that the Post Office's strategy was to keep the system's issues secret and continue blaming and prosecuting sub-postmasters, even though it was aware of the problems as early as 1999.

Why this matters: The Horizon scandal had devastating consequences for the wrongfully convicted sub-postmasters and their families. The public inquiry aims to uncover the truth behind the scandal and hold those responsible accountable for their actions or inaction.

Former Post Office CEO David Mills also testified at the inquiry, revealing that the organization was losing £1 million per day and was "technically insolvent" when he took over in 2002. Mills said the focus was more on the company's solvency than on the prosecutions, and he had to uncover the issues with Horizon himself as he was not briefed on them. The inquiry continues to investigate the roles and responsibilities of Post Office executives in the Horizon scandal.

Key Takeaways

• Former Post Office exec David Miller regretted not addressing Horizon IT issues in 2004.
• Horizon system had bugs that led to wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters.
• Post Office strategy was to keep Horizon issues secret and blame sub-postmasters.
• Former CEO David Mills revealed Post Office was losing £1M/day and technically insolvent.
• Public inquiry aims to uncover truth and hold executives accountable for Horizon scandal.