Former Fujitsu Engineer on Trial for His Involvement in Controversial Post Office Scandal

By Thea Felicity

Jun 28, 2024 12:21 PM EDT

BRITAIN-JUSTICE-POST OFFICE-INQUIRY-JAPAN-FUJITSU — A customer exits a branch of Post Office in Swindon, western England on January 22, 2024. Fujitsu created the Horizon IT system that resulted in some 700 local Post Office managers being wrongly convicted for theft and false accounting between 1999 and 2005. The UK government, which plans to exonerate all victims, has warned the company will be "held to account" if a public inquiry finds it guilty of wrongdoing.
(Photo : ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Ex-Fujitsu engineer and Horizon expert Gareth Jenkins defended his part in the Post Office scandal during a recent inquiry, BBC reported.

During his testimony from 2010 to 2013, lawyer Flora Page accused Jenkins of shielding Horizon software.

At the time, Fujitsu designed the Horizon IT system used by the UK's Post Office to manage accounting and transactions at post office branches.

However, it became the center of a crisis when it began falsely flagging financial discrepancies in branch accounts, leading to accusations of theft and false accounting against hundreds of sub-post managers.

This miscarriage of justice devastated lives, driving some to financial ruin and leading to tragic outcomes like suicides. Misra, pregnant at the time of her wrongful conviction in 2010, spoke out against the system's errors and its impact on her life.

At his trial, Misra was visibly affected by Jenkins' testimony and described Horizon as a "monster" responsible for major harm to those wrongfully convicted.

Jenkin, however, stated that he did not view the Horizon software as "a monster" and expressed regret for his actions.

What was the Post Office Scandal?

VCPost reported that between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office used faulty Horizon data to prosecute hundreds of sub-post managers, resulting in 700 convictions for theft and false accounting offenses.

Many sub-post managers were wrongly prosecuted and convicted based on the faulty data from the Horizon system. They faced severe legal consequences, including imprisonment, fines, and loss of livelihoods.

The scandal revealed systemic issues with the Horizon software, including bugs and errors that Fujitsu or the Post Office management did not adequately address.

During intense questioning at the inquiry, Jenkins acknowledged mistakes in his testimony, attributing them to ignorance rather than malice.