A former minister has said in a public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal that the contract for the buggy software was “fatally flawed”.
Stephen Byers said he was unaware that sub-postmaster law enforcement used evidence from Horizon when he was in charge of the post office.
More than 700 store managers have been convicted of stealing company funds.
It has been called the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.
Subordinate postmasters were falsely accused of theft and false billing based on information from the recently installed Horizon computer system, which was later found to be faulty.
Dozens of convictions have since been overturned, and many sub-postmasters are in line for compensation.
Mr Byers, who was Secretary of State at the Department for Trade and Industry from December 1998 to June 2001, is the first former government minister to testify about the inquiry.
He described the treatment of sub-postmasters as “shocking”.
“I would like to express my sincere regret for what happened and apologize for the damage suffered by those involved. We must do everything we can to ensure this never happens again,” he said.
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The inquiry also revealed that there were “significant disagreements” between the Labor Government departments involved in the future of Horizon, which initially involved the development of a new benefit payment card for the Department of Social Security.
He was also asked if he was aware of any concerns raised during the procurement and tendering process for the project.
He said there was a protocol whereby members of a new government could not see documents or papers made available to the previous government, meaning he and his fellow ministers could not see details of the tendering process or any difficulties they had already experienced horizon.
“We were denied everything … it was a veil that we couldn’t lift,” he said.
Mr Byers suggested terminating the contract with Fujitsu, the Japanese company that developed the Horizon software, would have resulted in huge losses, and there were also concerns about the impact on foreign investment.
In his testimony, he noted that it had been made “very clear” that a cancellation would have a major impact on Britain’s relations, not only with Fujitsu, a major investor at the time, but also with other Japanese multinationals such as Nissan and Toyota operated British car factories.
But when asked about that point, Mr. Byers replied: “One could make too much of that.”
He also said that automating the postal network was seen as crucial to its future and that it would have been necessary to develop a similar program, which could have taken several years and cost even more money.
Horizon’s cancellation would have had “devastating effects,” he suggested, adding, “We had to make the best of a very difficult situation, which I think we tried to do.”
The government, he said, had insisted on live testing of Horizon to ensure the system was working and that procedures had been put in place to ensure ministers were notified of any problems.
Mr. Byers said he did not recall any significant concerns about technical issues as Horizon was flagged during his remaining tenure as secretary of state.
In written evidence heard by the inquiry on Thursday, former Prime Minister Tony Blair said that while he had “very limited recollection” of events around the time, he recalled raising some concerns about the reliability of Horizon were voiced.
“I remember making it clear that I was content to keep working to find a way forward when the issues with the project were only commercial aspects, but when there were product reliability concerns we should.” don’t do this. I remember that I subsequently received the necessary assurances of reliability,” he wrote.
He was also asked what he understood at the time to be the key lessons from the scandal.
“I have learned that it is crucial to seek advice from experts with extensive experience in the field who can provide the necessary assurance. As I have already explained, I have sought and received assurances as to the reliability of the product being developed.
“It is now clear that the Horizon product had serious flaws that led to tragic and totally unacceptable consequences, and I have deep sympathy for those affected.”
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