Campaigner Sir Alan Bates hit out at the “total incompetence” of post office bosses after learning that a document containing the names and addresses of victims of the scandal had been published on the Post Office’s website.
The document, titled “Confidential Settlement Deed”, was discovered by journalist Nick Wallis and has since been removed from the website. A link to the document can still be found via a Google search at the time of writing, suggesting it has been online since 2019 – the URL now returns a “Page not found” error.
According to Wallis’ story published in The Daily Mailcontains the names and addresses of all 555 sub-postmasters involved in the 2018/19 High Court case which proved that errors in the Post Office’s Horizon IT system were responsible for the accounting losses for which the victims were blamed and prosecuted.
Bates, who was recently knighted for his work in uncovering the scandal and campaigning for its victims, told Computer Weekly: “The level of incompetence at the Post Office never ceases to amaze me. Their utter incompetence in failing to provide the documents required for publication and then posting highly confidential material on their website – is beyond belief. When are they going to start firing these people instead of giving them bonuses?
The Post Office has been reprimanded more than once by Sir Wyn Williams, the head of the statutory inquiry into the scandal, for its failure to release important documents in the investigation.
Christopher Head, a former subpostmaster and victim of the scandal, said he had written to Post Office chief executive Nick Read demanding answers as the document became available online. “As you can imagine this has caused a great deal of upset, anxiety and anger among those whose data is now in the public domain,” Head wrote, according to a copy of the text posted on his Twitter account.
“There are many people who have not shared the details with their own families and others who are extremely traumatized by this whole scandal even today and it has further affected them,” he said. “Whether anyone would accept an apology at this stage is unknown, but personally I thought it was very telling that the response to The Daily Mail the Post Office statement contained no apology or understanding of the severity of the impact on these postmasters and their families.
Fight for compensation
Many of the affected sub-postmasters are still fighting for compensation, three years after the first appeal court acquitted them. Last month, the government passed a law that overturned the convictions of all those whose appeals had yet to be heard.
“After all that postmasters, postmasters and their families have been through over the years, this is just another insult that can only be described as a disgrace,” Head said.
Jasvinder Barang, a former subpostmaster and member of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA) campaign founded by Bates, told Computer Weekly that the data breach risks more than just sharing personal information.
“I’m shocked and very angry,” she said. “It’s not just about our online security, it’s also about our physical security. They know where we live and our families could be in danger.”
Ron Warmington, a partner at Second Sight, the forensic accountants who uncovered evidence of errors at Horizon and a potential cover-up by Post Office management, also highlighted the unfortunate irony of confidential victim information being exposed: “The Post Office kept telling us how important it was that the information confidential about people during our investigation and they exposed them to the world. Total postal incompetence as usual.”
Update: June 20, 2024 at 4:30 p.m
Post Office chief executive Nick Read apologized for the data breach, saying: “This is a truly terrible mistake for which I can only apologize at this stage.” In a statement, the Post Office added: “As an urgent priority, we are investigating how the disclosure occurred. In accordance with our regulatory requirements, we are in the process of reporting the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The Post Office could face regulatory scrutiny from the ICO – under the Data Protection Act it has a duty to report potential data breaches. The Commissioner has the power to fine organizations up to £17.5 million or 4% of their annual worldwide turnover, whichever is greater.
An ICO spokesman said: “The Post Office Limited has brought the incident to our attention and we are assessing the information provided.”
The Post Office scandal was first revealed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven sub-postmasters – including Alan Bates – and the problems they suffered because of accounting software. It is one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history (see below for a timeline of Computer Weekly articles on the scandal since 2009).
• Also read: What you need to know about the Horizon scandal •
• See also: ITV Documentary – Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The True Story •