The Post Office has really paid better than ₤ 600m of public money to proceed making use of the bug-ridden Horizon IT system no matter selecting it required to be modified better than a years again.
It has really arised that the federal authorities was suggested regarding potential points with the preliminary ₤ 548m provide the Post Office struck with the Japanese enterprise Fujitsu previous to it was checked in 1999.
The after that head of state, Tony Blair, and varied different aged Labour federal authorities numbers understood that, underneath the regards to the provide, the Post Office will surely not possess the core laptop system code to Horizon, which will surely make it difficult to ever earlier than transfer distributor, in accordance with the BBC.
To day, the Post Office has really invested ₤ 2.5 bn on agreements with Fujitsu, consisting of ₤ 600m on expansions provided that it started trying to find brand-new suppliers in 2012, and inevitably making an attempt to assemble its very personal innovation, known as the New Branch IT system (NBIT).
The Post Office give up unique prosecutions primarily based upon Horizon IT info in 2015, after better than 900 branch-owner drivers had been mistakenly prosecuted over shortages arising from the faulty system, a way it has really assured to not reboot.
The Post Office started the seek for a brand-new distributor in 2012 and requested IBM to assemble a substitute system to Horizon in 2015, nonetheless that job was abandoned at a worth of ₤ 40m in 2016.
A afterward put together to assemble a brand-new system engaged on Amazon’s cloud laptop system wanted to be abandoned in 2022.
The embattled service has really been creating its very personal unique system, NBIT, which was implied to roll out this year.
However, it has really been pestered with hold-ups and elevating costs which may go to better than ₤ 1bn, elevating questions the brand-new system will definitely ever earlier than be introduced, with the Post Office and Fujitsu confessing they’re probably to nonetheless be collaborating up till 2030.
“We are applying adjustments throughout the whole organisation to make sure that we can construct a Post Office suitable for the future, essentially altered and with postmasters at its heart,” a speaker for the Post Office acknowledged.
According to the BBC, Blair obtained an improve from the Treasury in May 1999 warning that conversations with a Fujitsu subsidiary, ICL Pathway, over the regards to a suggestion for Horizon had “foundered”.
One of the issues related to the consequences of not managing all copyright authorized rights, with the Treasury claiming Fujitsu “would be in a strong position to drive a costly settlement with the Post Office”.
A consultant for Blair didn’t straight resolve his experience of the copyright possession hassle nonetheless knowledgeable the BBC that the earlier head of state “took very seriously the issues raised about the Horizon contract” on the time.
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“The final decision was taken after an investigation by an independent panel recommended it was viable,” the speaker acknowledged. “It is now clear that the Horizon product was seriously flawed, leading to tragic and completely unacceptable consequences, and Mr Blair has deep sympathy with all those affected.”
In the very same yr a paper was despatched out to Gordon Brown, the after that chancellor, warning of the issues over code possession.
A consultant for Brown acknowledged he “would not have been shown the memo” from 20 May 1999 and he will surely have been duplicated in as a “formality”.
The speaker knowledgeable the BBC: “He was not involved in any work related to the purchasing, award or management of the Horizon contract.”
This month, the postal priest Gareth Thomas revealed a further ₤ 276.9 m of financing for the organisation, consisting of ₤ 136m for future innovation for this fiscal yr.
“We are working at pace to ensure Post Office has the technology it needs across the business, including replacing the Horizon system,” he acknowledged. “The fact Post Office is still using Horizon indicates past underinvestment, which can’t be rectified overnight, so we need to ensure postmasters have the tools they need to continue serving their customers.”
