- Written by Michael Fitzpatrick
- BBC News NI
image source, Getty Images
More than 700 people were charged based on flawed Horizon software data between 1999 and 2015
A former Post Office investigator based in Northern Ireland has said he was told the system was “100% reliable” during the investigation into the Horizon IT scandal.
Suzanne Winter worked as an inspector at the NI Post Office from 2001 to 2014.
Four former deputy queens from Northern Ireland are taking part in an investigation in London on Friday.
All four women were affected by the Horizon IT scandal.
They are hearing evidence from Mr Winter, who was involved in the incident.
Ms Winter will be questioned about the criminal investigation into one of the victims, Maureen McKelvey, from Omagh.
Mr McKelvey was prosecuted but later acquitted as he was found to be £30,000 short.
Ms Winter was also involved in the cases of three other former deputy wives who were involved in the investigation: Deirdre Connolly, Heather Early and Catherine McAleney.
The minutes can be viewed here.
Ms Winter told the inquiry on Friday that she had trained in Milton Keynes when she started working at the Post Office.
The lawyer representing the investigation asked Ms. Winter whether there was any guidance from Fujitsu, the company behind the flawed IT system, about when to request audit data related to the investigation.
“During the initial training, we were not told how to obtain information from Fujitsu because we were told that the system was 100% reliable,” Winter said.
Deirdre Connolly, Catherine McAleney, Heather Earley and Maureen McKelvey will attend the Post Office inspection in London on Friday.
Ms Winter, who is giving evidence remotely, also told the inquiry that she was the only investigator in Northern Ireland during her tenure, despite having a management qualification.
“It was always a one-man department, there was no staff. It was just a title.”
collection of money
She also said that the specific guidance she received on Northern Ireland law and procedure came primarily from “the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.”
The investigation also revealed that Ms. Winter, as an investigator, had set a target of 65% to recover money from those she investigated.
“That 65% rate was for fraud recovery, and our senior security team was always trying to recover as much money as possible,” Winter said.
She also agreed with the investigator’s attorney that fraud recovery targets have been low in past years.
“Yes, I think there has been, but probably in the last three or four years there has been pressure on everyone from the first team to increase those numbers.”
More than 900 subpostmasters and postmistresses were charged with stealing money due to false information provided by a computer system called Horizon.
The Post Office itself has many cases in court, indicting 736 people between 1999 and 2015 (on average, one person a week).
A further 283 cases were brought by other agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service.
Many have maintained their innocence and said they have repeatedly reported problems with the software.
Some of those convicted were jailed for false accounting and theft, and many were left financially ruined.