A Parliamentary report asserts that understanding the “black box” IT systems in public bodies and fostering a culture where people feel safe to raise concerns could prevent future scandals like the Post Office disaster.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life’s latest report, titled Recognising and Responding to Early Warning Signs in Public Sector Bodies, spotlights multiple failures within public institutions, including the Post Office scandal. Doug Chalmers, committee chair and former British Army officer, emphasizes that while incidents like the Post Office Horizon, Grenfell, and the Windrush scandal are distinct, they all share devastating consequences for individuals.
Common themes emerge from these scandals: leaders ignoring concerns, failing to learn from past mistakes, and not recognizing or sharing risks. In the case of the Post Office, management dismissed subpostmasters’ warnings about the faulty Horizon IT system, attributing account discrepancies to the subpostmasters themselves rather than investigating the technology behind it.
The government’s oversight was similarly lacking, treating the Post Office as an arms-length entity. Fujitsu, the firm behind the Horizon system, was aware of issues but kept quiet. Their staff even misled courts during trials of subpostmasters facing criminal charges related to the discrepancies.
The report stresses that leaders of organizations using “black box” systems must have a solid grasp of their operations. These systems, like Horizon, have clear inputs and outputs but obscure processes in between. The report urges leaders to scrutinize how well they understand these systems and whether they are equipped to manage potential issues.
Creating an environment where staff feel empowered to speak up is equally crucial. After the Horizon system’s launch in 1999, dissent was suppressed, and it wasn’t until 2009 that concerns became public, thanks in part to reporting from Computer Weekly. By then, many subpostmasters had already suffered greatly, with significant numbers wrongfully imprisoned due to errors linked to the software.
The report warns that this scandal, which could have been averted with proper attention to early warnings, threatens to cost UK taxpayers billions. It highlights the importance of a culture that encourages openness and proactive risk management. Speaking up isn’t easy; it requires moral courage. Employees need to feel comfortable questioning decisions and raising concerns about potential negative consequences.
Neil Gordon, a computer science professor and ethics chair at the British Computer Society, believes the report is relevant not just for public sector professionals but for all in the computing field. He emphasizes that creators and supporters of IT systems must communicate their limitations clearly to users. Organizations should always seek ways to identify risks and encourage candid conversations among employees.
Gordon points out that IT experts can be vital in spotting risks early through data analysis, supporting better decision-making. He mentions that responsibly developed emerging tech, including AI, holds great potential but comes with risks. He welcomes the push for whistleblower protections and media scrutiny of organizations, urging a collective responsibility to prevent repeat failures like those discussed in the report.
A Post Office spokesperson has stated that they will thoroughly review the report and its lessons. They have made significant cultural shifts in recent years, including adding serving postmasters to the board and implementing a confidential whistleblowing service for employees and postmasters.
Computer Weekly was first to expose the Post Office scandal in 2009, telling the stories of subpostmasters affected by the Horizon software, leading to one of the largest miscarriages of justice in British history.
