Former Post Office Horizon Architect Admits to “Discreet” Bugs But Claims System Worked Well Overall
The public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal heard testimony from Gareth Jenkins, one of the architects of the accounting system. Jenkins, who was a lead engineer at Horizon supplier Fujitsu, admitted that there were “discreet” bugs in the system, but maintained that it “generally worked well”. He also dismissed suggestions that he had knowledge of widespread flaws in the system.
During his testimony, Jenkins expressed regret for his role in the wrongful prosecution of sub-postmaster Seema Misra, stating that he did not fully understand his duty of disclosure as an expert witness at the time. Misra, who was present outside the hearing, stated that she did not accept his apology, stating that it was “too little too late”. Misra also noted that there were still three days left of the inquiry and she did not accept his apology at this time.
Jenkins went on to explain that while there were some issues encountered during pilot runs of both the original software, now known as ‘legacy Horizon’, and the later Horizon Online system, these systemic issues were eventually resolved. When questioned by counsel to the inquiry, Jason Beer KC, Jenkins stated that the scale and seriousness of the bugs in the system that have been complained about were inconsistent with his own understanding of Horizon’s integrity.
Jenkins also clarified that this applied to both the original software and the later Horizon Online system, which is still in use today. He further explained that he was employed by Fujitsu from 1996 to 2022 and was utilized by the Post Office as an expert witness in prosecutions of sub-postmasters on charges such as theft and false accounting.
It has been alleged that Jenkins failed to disclose the existence of a known bug in the accounting system during the 2010 trial of Seema Misra, which could have cleared her name and halted other prosecutions. He is also facing further claims regarding the ability of Fujitsu personnel to access the legacy system without the knowledge of sub-postmasters. Jenkins is currently under investigation by the police on perjury grounds.
According to the law, expert witnesses in criminal cases must be impartial. In his witness statement to the inquiry, Jenkins expressed remorse for Misra’s wrongful conviction, stating that it was “even more tragic” because she was pregnant at the time, a fact that he did not learn until several years later.
The inquiry has already heard that Jenkins was used on multiple occasions to provide information for the Post Office’s prosecution of sub-postmasters. Jenkins stated, “The idea that I would lie about Horizon, knowing that an innocent person could be convicted and imprisoned, is completely abhorrent to me.”
Jenkins also noted pressure from lawyers during the Misra trial to support a case of theft rather than incompetence. During his testimony, he stated that the duties of being an expert witness were not clearly explained to him, and he did not understand his duties of disclosure until 2020.
In an interview with Sky News, Misra stated that she did not accept Jenkins’ apology, stating that it was “too little too late”. When questioned about his knowledge of bugs in the system, Jenkins denied having knowledge of any issues other than those he was personally asked to investigate. He also stated that he was not sure what bugs were causing the problems that sub-postmasters were experiencing, and those he was aware of were “discreet” and “well controlled and managed at the time”.
When asked if he should have made sure he knew about any other problems before going to court, Jenkins replied, “That didn’t occur to me.” He also stated that he was confident, possibly wrongly, that any problems that did occur would be quickly fixed and not left to have a significant impact on the system. Jenkins added that with hindsight, he would have asked wider questions.
More than 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly convicted of crimes related to their use of the Horizon systems. Jenkins is scheduled to give four days of evidence during the inquiry.