Peter Moore on the Post Office scandal

The recent publicity about the miscarriages of justice for over 700 sub postmasters and mistresses has opened up a can of worms. There are so many aspects to this terrible story it is hard to know where to start.

The first point is the importance of drama, something which would have been understood by the ancient Greeks.  I have been aware of this terrible miscarriage of justice for several years. I listened to a series of programmes on Radio 4 and it was featured on Panorama. A book has also been written exposing the scandal but it took a TV drama to gain traction.  This is not surprising. Every journalist knows that human stories are far more powerful than dry facts. The good news is that it has now hit the headlines and the victims should see justice.

A second point is the dangers of relying on computers. “The computer says no” should never be an explanation for any decision anymore than a driver exceeding the speed limit can blame the car. A computer is only a tool helping a human being. Someone must take responsibility.

When I was at school studying maths I was taught an important lesson. Before any calculation I should have a rough idea of the answer. If I’ve worked out that it should be roundabout 50 and my calculations come out at 500,000 something’s gone wrong. This simple logic does not appear to be integrated into many computer programmes. Just before Christmas the artist Sir Greyson Perry received an energy bill for £39,000 compared to his usual £300. The automated system then tried to take out the money out of his account.  A human would have asked questions. The computer did not. 

Normally there is the occasional case of fraud in the post office every few years. When suddenly there were over 700 it is beyond bizarre that no one asked questions. Did hundreds of previously honest postmasters and mistresses suddenly become dishonest? 

The test of any organisation is not only the quality of their product but how they respond when things go wrong, which will happen. The most impressive industry is the airlines. Over the years there have been disasters but, instead of denying that there was a problem, they have admitted it and made changes. Recently we have seen two potential disasters with a Japanese airliner bursting into flames on the runway and the door falling off an American airliner at 16,000 feet. No one was killed or even seriously injured. In the past these would have led to major tragedies. By admitting that things can go wrong and working out solutions rather than pretending everything is perfect hundreds of lives were saved. 

Today, when looking for any product, train journey, hotel or holiday we are told to book online. When it works this is quick and easy but do companies have a moral obligation to offer some kind of backup when things do wrong? 

I recently booked a hotel online but when the confirmation email arrived it was for the wrong day. It might have been my fault or a computer blip but it needed to be sorted out. Obviously the FAQ (frequently asked questions) on the website did not cover “booking the wrong date” but, when I rang the hotel they could not help. All bookings are made centrally. Trying to ring the head office meant spending a happy hour or two listening to “hold music”. The only good news was that my call was important to them. 

Questions also need to be asked about the legal system. If these postmasters and mistresses had really defrauded the system where was the money? Did they look at their bank statements? Were any of them taking expensive holidays or driving a Porsche? Why didn’t the defence lawyer make this point? This must introduce “reasonable doubt”.

One lesson we must learn from this miscarriage of justice is to understand that a computer is only a useful tool and not infallible. Bring back human oversight.