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Post Office scandal: Cambridge MP says 'bugs and faults' inevitable

Nadia Guane/BBC Cambridge MP Daniel ZeichnerNadia Guane/BBC
Labour MP Daniel Zeichner said there were "always" going to be "bugs and faults" in computer systems

A Labour MP who worked in IT has said a "broader message" about the dangers of trusting computer systems might emerge from the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Cambridge's Daniel Zeichner said systems were only as good as the people behind them.

But he said that did not excuse the "lying" that appeared to have "gone on" during the scandal.

This week, a sub-postmaster in Cambridgeshire revealed he paid £12,000 that an auditor said he had stolen.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were prosecuted based on data from the IT software between 1999 and 2015, and some went to prison for false accounting and theft charges.

'Bugs and faults'

"We tend to believe the computer," said Mr Zeichner, speaking to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

"I think everyone who has worked in any system will know it is only as good as the people who designed it and wrote it.

"There are always going to be bugs and faults."

Mr Zeichner added: "But that does not excuse the lying that appears to have gone on."

The 67-year-old, who said he worked as an IT programmer and designer, is chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Data Analytics.

He said there was a "broader message" about the dangers of trusting computer systems and said there could be issues in similar systems elsewhere.

Mr Zeichner said no constituent had come forward to tell him about the "kind of case" that had made national headlines but added: "I fear there may be others."

Katherine Ganczakowski/BBC Richard SockettKatherine Ganczakowski/BBC
Richard Sockett, who ran a Post Office in Barton, Cambridgeshire, said he paid £12,000 that he was accused of stealing

In 2019, Mr Zeichner told a House of Commons debate on artificial intelligence that large tech companies could not be trusted on data privacy.

He told MPs that "tougher regulatory frameworks" were needed when using artificial intelligence in healthcare and the NHS.

The Post Office declined to comment on Mr Sockett's case while the public inquiry was ongoing.

Previously, it said it was "sorry for the impact of the Horizon scandal on the lives of victims".

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