Post Office accidentally publishes the names and addresses of 555 subpostmasters wrongfully convicted in Horizon scandal

20 June 2024, 08:36

More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015
More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015. Picture: Getty

By Charlie Duffield

The Post Office has accidentally published the names and home addresses of 555 sub-postmasters wrongfully convicted in the Horizon scandal.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

A dossier allegedly entitled “Confidential Settlement Deed”, is understood to have revealed the details of 555 of those involved in suing the Post Office in 2019, including their postcodes.

It was on the website in full on Wednesday, but was then taken down, according to The Daily Mail.

A Post Office representative said: “The document in question has been removed from our website. We are investigating as an urgent priority how it came to be published. We are in the process of notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the incident, in line with our regulatory requirements.”

An ICO spokesman said: “We have not received a data breach report on this matter. Organisations must notify the ICO within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach, unless it does not pose a risk to people’s rights and freedoms.

Read More: Keir Starmer comes out on top after LBC phone-ins – as Rishi Sunak seen as ‘overwhelmingly negative’

Read More: Just Stop Oil protesters target jets at private airfield just 'hours after Taylor Swift’s arrival' at site

Paula Vennells apologises to subpostmasters at Post Office Horizon IT inquiry

“If an organisation decides that a breach doesn’t need to be reported, they should keep their own record of it and be able to explain why it wasn’t reported if necessary.”

More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty system, Horizon, made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.

In 2017, legal action was launched against the Post Office by the 555 sub-postmasters and two years later, a High Court judge ruled that Horizon contained a number of “bugs, errors and defects” and there was a “material risk” that shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.

The Post Office agreed to pay out £58m to them.

A banner is held by 'Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance' campaigners, on 22nd May 2024, in London, England
A banner is held by 'Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance' campaigners, on 22nd May 2024, in London, England. Picture: Getty

On Wednesday, Duncan Tait, former chief executive of Fujitsu, told the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry that he saw “no red flashing lights” warranting an investigation into the system used by sub-postmasters despite repeated concerns being raised.

Sub-postmasters’ concerns about Horizon were put before Tait shortly after he joined Fujitsu’s UK business as managing director in 2009. He told the inquiry: “My understanding at the time was that these claims were unfounded.”

Hundreds of victims are still awaiting compensation, despite the Government stating those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.

Additionally, today the Horizon IT inquiry will hear from Graham Ward, a former Post Office security team casework manager and financial investigator, Tony Kearns, senior deputy general secretary of the Communications Workers Union, and Kay Linnell, forensic accountant and adviser to the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Kerri Pegg, former governor of HMP Kirkham,

Prison governor guilty of misconduct after relationship with drug boss 'Jesse Pinkman' who gifted her £12k Mercedes

Emergency services search for survivors after the ceiling collapsed in Dominican Republic

At least 15 killed after nightclub ceiling collapses in Dominican Republic as desperate hunt for survivors launched

Westfield Stratford City shopping center, London England United Kingdom UK

Two teenage boys charged after seat thrown from third floor of Westfield shopping centre

Elton John and Madonna 'bury the hatchet' after decades-long feud

Elton John and Madonna 'bury the hatchet' after decades-long feud

Zelenskyy shared the video of the alleged Chinese soldier on Telegram

Two Chinese soldiers captured fighting in Ukraine - and Zelenskyy says he wants US and Europe to respond

Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim was fatally stabbed in Huddersfield

Boy, 16, fatally stabbed in Huddersfield was refugee who fled Syria and dreamed of becoming doctor

Yossi Benayoun

Former Premier League star 'survives grenade attack on home'

New Scotland Yard

Serving Met Police officer charged with four counts of rape

FILE - A North Korean military guard post, top, and South Korean post, bottom, are seen from Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Friday, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

South Korean military fire at North Korean soldiers 'crossing demarcation line'

Jorge Bolano of Parma

Cause of death revealed after World Cup star dies aged 47 as Gianluigi Buffon leads tributes

Rachel Reeves has told Brits 'we have your backs'

'We've got your back,' Rachel Reeves tells Brits as she warns Trump's tariffs have 'huge implications' for economy

Boy, 15, and girl, 13, guilty of manslaughter following the death of Leicester pensioner Bhim Kohli

Boy, 15, and girl, 13, guilty of manslaughter following the death of Leicester dog walker Bhim Kohli

File photo of a Ukrainian soldier, with forces confirmed to be in a second Russian border region

'War must return where it came from': Ukraine forces 'active in second Russian border region', Zelenskyy confirms

Dismembered body of British scientist found in suitcase after vanishing in Columbia

Dismembered body of British scientist found in suitcase after vanishing in Colombia

Exclusive
Wes Streeting hopes booking a GP appointment will be easier by the next election

Wes Streeting unable to say when '8am scramble' for GP appointments will end despite earlier promises

Irmgard Furchner

Nazi 'Secretary of Evil' convicted for murders of 10,500 Holocaust victims dies aged 99