• Mr. Bates vs The Post Office

    From Ben Collver@21:1/149 to All on Mon Apr 1 10:38:57 2024
    In one of the most shameful scandals in the history of Information
    Technology, the British Post Office deployed a bug-ridden system
    called "Horizon" for the use of its sub-postmasters (post office
    branch managers) to report their accounts. Then, when it started
    producing completely false results, often with discrepancies amounting
    to thousands of pounds, and those sub-postmasters tried complaining
    and seeking corrections, it insisted there were no such flaws in the
    system, telling each one of those complaining that there had been no
    other complaints, and demanded those branch managers, as per their
    contracts, must make up the discrepancies out of their own pockets.

    This miserable saga continued from 1999 to 2015. Over this time, many
    of those sub-postmasters were driven to ruin. Some were prosecuted and
    jailed, their stories simply disbelieved. Some even committed suicide.

    ITV broadcast a four-part docudrama
    <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27867155/> about the scandal back in
    January, and it has just made its way to us in NZ. If it comes to your
    town or country, it's worth a watch.

    The Register has done a number of articles as the story has come to
    light, as far back as 2019
    <https://www.theregister.com/2019/03/15/ post_office_horizon_it_system_initial_judgment/>, right up to this year <https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/17/post_office_inquiry_latest/>, <https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/01/ fujitsu_finance_chief_apologises_horizon_inquiry/>.

    From: <news:uudm8e$2b767$1@dont-email.me>,
    <news:comp.misc:25000>
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  • From Blue White@21:4/134 to Ben Collver on Tue Apr 2 07:52:12 2024
    ITV broadcast a four-part docudrama
    <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27867155/> about the scandal back in
    January, and it has just made its way to us in NZ. If it comes to your
    town or country, it's worth a watch.

    It is coming to PBS Masterpiece starting this week. Check local listings
    but, in this area, KET is showing it Sunday nights at 9pm ET.



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