Exclusive: 'Faulty' pre-Horizon Post Office system led to hundreds of prosecutions

Ecco+, another pre-Horizon IT system that was introduced to post masters between 1992 and 1999, was also likely to be faulty due to which hundreds of sub postmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office, a leading sub postmaster representative has said.

Speaking to Asian Trader today (22), Calum Greenhow – Chief Executive Officer at National Federation of Sub Postmasters (NFSP) stated that Ecco+ system that was introduced between 1992 and 1999 also created problems for sub post masters.

Greenhow said, "Apart from Capture that came in pre-Horizon time, there was another one called Ecco+ that was in operation between 1992 to 1999. Within that period, (I have learned just in the last few days) post office brought about 334 prosecutions over an eight-year period."

He added, "We have heard so much about Post Office carrying out prosecutions during the Horizon. The fact is, they carried out prosecutions prior to Horizon as well, to near enough the same number and to the same degree. So we're talking about a prosecution regime over a 32-year period, not a 25-year period. Their attitude against sub postmasters and their own staff has been prevalent for well over 30 years," he said.

The NFSP last month wrote to the minister in charge of the Post Office requesting a review of problems experienced by users of Ecco+. With Ecco+, there were fewer prosecutions based on the systems reporting shortfalls, but instead, some users “were either dismissed or forced to resign, leading to severe financial consequences”.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said, “The possible issues relating to Ecco+ have been brought to our attention following the independent investigation into Capture. The Department is looking into the issue.”

Last month, on being asked by Computer Weekly for details on the Ecco+ systems, Post Office said, “We don’t have the information you’ve asked for about Ecco+ to hand, and so if you would like to pursue this, we would recommend you submit a freedom of information request given that the subject matter dates back some 30 years and that is the most appropriate route to conduct searches.”

Ecco+ is the second pre-Horizon system that has come under scanner. Earlier this year, an independent forensic analysis, commissioned by the government in May, reported that IT system Capture had bugs and glitches and there was a reasonable likelihood it had caused cash shortfalls too.

According to latest reports, at least eight convictions predating the Horizon Post Office scandal are being looked at by Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) investigating potential miscarriages of justice after being affected by Capture software.

Lord Beamish, the former Labour MP Kevan Jones, has been supporting victims and is calling for the government to extend current legislation to automatically quash convictions.

"The government are going to have to take this seriously," he said. "We can't have a situation where we have a two-tier system where people get exonerated from Horizon and the Capture cases are either forgotten or have to go through a very lengthy legal process to get their names cleared."