Fujitsu bosses knew about Post Set of job Horizon IT flaws, says insider

Greatest industrial IT system in Europe

When it became as soon as rolled out, Horizon became as soon as described by Fujitsu as the “largest non-protection force IT system in Europe”. About 40,000 Horizon terminals dangle been installed in all Post Offices across the UK. The person interface became as soon as a touchscreen and keyboard linked to a PC beneath the counter which ran on the Windows NT working system. Branch PCs dangle been connected via ISDN to a assist-discontinue mainframe. The Fujitsu-designed Epos system on the PCs became as soon as written onto an off-the-shelf system known as Riposte.

Our provide talked about the enormous flaw in Horizon became as soon as the model recordsdata became as soon as being written to Riposte.“Riposte wasn’t if truth be told a database, it became as soon as a messaging system in response to an XML structure the put you write messages down into the message store, and then Riposte took care of replicating them,” he talked about.

“The first factor that you simply should perchance also soundless continually impress with a system like that is invent and agree an recordsdata dictionary and a message library repository, usually to narrate: these are the messages that are allowed to be written to the message store and so all of them present the next feature.

“It’s virtually like an API [application programming interface] so that you simply dangle gotten a list of allowed messages that can all be written to the correct structure with the correct scream material.

“It is likely you’ll soundless even dangle a layer of system that lies on high of the message store that tests that any software program above it which is making an are trying to write down a message, conforms to the agreed recordsdata dictionary. In any other case, you should be in a arena to correct write freestyle to the message store, which is what they dangle been doing. There became as soon as no software program interface in there, no agreed recordsdata catalogue or the relaxation.”

Computer Weekly also spoke to a aged Fujitsu employee who worked within the Horizon Service Beef up Centre from 2001. The strengthen engineer – who also wishes to stay nameless – recognised this fresh description of Horizon’s badly built message store, adding: “Our job became as soon as to repair these problems as they arose. We all knew the code wasn’t fit for just and demanding rewriting. The details dictionary became as soon as soundless being added to when I purchased there.”

Senior managers dangle been aware

The most severe allegation raised by the developer is that senior managers at Fujitsu dangle been aware that a if truth be told crucial element of the Horizon system didn’t feature accurately and could soundless no longer be fixed.

For the basic 10 years of Horizon’s existence, transaction and myth recordsdata became as soon as saved on terminals in every branch sooner than being uploaded to a central database via ISDN. Our provide says this phase of the system merely didn’t work.

“The money myth became as soon as a little bit of system that sat on the counter NT field, asleep all day,” he talked about. “On the discontinue of the day, or a explicit level within the day, it got here to life, and it ran via the message store from the level it final performed. It started at a watermark from the day earlier to this and combed via every transaction within the message store, up unless the next watermark.

“A great deal of the messages in there dangle been nonsense, because there became as soon as no recordsdata dictionary, there became as soon as no API that enforced message integrity. The contents of the message dangle been freehand, you presumably can write no topic you crucial within the code, and all people did it differently. And then, if to gain here assist three weeks later, you presumably can write it differently all over again.”

He gave an example of a message saved beforehand when a customer equipped a imprint. It became as soon as feasible that a brand fresh message for shopping a imprint weeks later could be a bit assorted.

“When the money depend got here alongside, it came across a message it became as soon as no longer waiting for and either no longer famed it, tripped up, or added something it shouldn’t be adding,” he talked about.

In 2015, Computer Weekly reported every other nameless provide who identified the money writing program as a that you simply’re going to be in a arena to evaluate motive of severe problems. He suggested us the Post Set of job became as soon as warned about the danger of recordsdata corruption on the bespoke asynchronous communication system which despatched messages between branches and the central Horizon quandary-up.

Talking to Computer Weekly in 2015, the nameless provide suggested us: “The asynchronous system didn’t keep up a correspondence in exact time, nonetheless does so the spend of a series of messages that are saved and forwarded, when the community connection is accessible. This plot that messages to and from the centre could mosey over every other. It is completely that you simply’re going to be in a arena to evaluate that, if no longer handled effectively, messages from the centre could overwrite recordsdata held domestically.”

Four years later, aged Fujitsu engineer Richard Roll wrote in a look for assertion to the Excessive Court: “The failings with coding within the Horizon system dangle been intensive. Moreover, the coding concerns impacted on transaction recordsdata and prompted monetary discrepancies on the Horizon system at branch stage.”

Roll’s proof, which became as soon as accepted by the converse, suggests that the concerns with Horizon identified by our provide had no longer been handled by the level the system went are residing.

Other consultants aware of Horizon that Computer Weekly approached dangle also supported the developer’s claims.

The developer talked about he made his superiors at Fujitsu attentive to the extent of the Epos system problems, telling them explicitly that the money myth crucial to be scrapped.

“I broke it down and talked about: you should be in a arena to withhold these bits at a push at the same time as you should elevate to,” he talked about. “But that bit within the heart, these bits of the engine, the gearbox, you wish to throw them away and rebuild them. Beginning with the money myth. You’ve purchased to throw the money myth away and you’ve purchased to rewrite it.”

Bone of contention

Our provide talked about Fujitsu’s unwillingness to address this central discipline changed into a bone of contention with him. He talked about he became as soon as equipped more responsibility on the venture nonetheless refused except the money myth became as soon as rebuilt from scratch. This, he claimed, resulted in him being moved off the Epos aspect of the venture to change into Horizon’s LFS [Logistics Feeder Service] group enhance supervisor.

He concluded: “It became as soon as a prototype that had been bloated and hacked together afterwards for loads of years, and then pushed screaming and kicking out of the door. It will also soundless by no plot dangle viewed the light of day. By no plot.”

Computer Weekly contacted Fujitsu, inquiring for a response to the developer’s allegations. A spokesperson for the corporate talked about: “As a long-term accomplice to UK public and private sector organisations, we are dedicated to supporting our customers, our workers and the of us they abet within the UK. We equipped detailed responses to all questions raised by the House of Commons BEIS Discover Committee and are continuing to cooperate with the continuing Post Set of job Horizon IT inquiry.”

The Post Set of job talked about it would no longer be applicable to enlighten on person allegations exterior of the fresh self sustaining inquiry and the courts.

The Division for Industry, Vitality and Industrial Approach (BEIS), which holds authorities responsibility for the Post Set of job, talked about it had “established an self sustaining, converse-led inquiry to construct constructive that classes are discovered, and that concrete changes buy recount at Post Set of job Ltd. If anyone has linked recordsdata, we’d assist them to provide it to the Post Set of job Horizon IT inquiry.”

The Williams inquiry into the Post Set of job Horizon IT scandal is accepting proof unless 25 February and is attributable to document within the summer.

A Computer Weekly investigation in 2009 first published that subpostmasters, who depart Post Set of job branches, dangle been being blamed for unexplained monetary losses, which they claimed dangle been prompted by errors made by the Horizon system. The Post Set of job denied this, and heaps subpostmasters dangle been subsequently prosecuted for theft and false accounting, with detention heart sentences, neighborhood service, felony data and heavy fines among the injustices they suffered this potential that.

It has change into likely the most greatest miscarriages of justice in UK historical previous.