BBC threatened and deceived by Post Office in relation to Horizon whistleblower

The Post Office engaged in deceptive tactics and attempted to hide important evidence in order to cover up the Horizon scandal, as revealed in documents submitted to the ongoing public inquiry. The scandal involved the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of postmasters and postmistresses between 1999 and 2015, who were accused of offenses such as theft and fraud due to errors in the Horizon computer system. The Post Office's efforts to suppress the truth included threatening and lying to the BBC, attempting to smear postmasters before a 2015 Panorama broadcast featuring a Fujitsu whistleblower. These efforts caused the BBC to delay the broadcast by several weeks. The Post Office's false claims were exposed, but it continued its campaign of misinformation and lobbying to obstruct the investigation. The whistleblower's testimony, which revealed that Fujitsu staff had remote access to branch accounts and could alter them without the sub-postmasters' knowledge, called into question the validity of the convictions. The Post Office denied the possibility of remote access, even though it had known about it for years. The Post Office also sent intimidating letters and threatened legal action against Panorama and the experts involved in the investigation. Despite the Post Office's attempts to downplay the allegations, the Panorama program had a significant impact and played a crucial role in exposing the truth. The revelations led to a legal victory for the postmasters and the overturning of numerous convictions. The Post Office has since apologized for its actions and acknowledged the devastation caused to those wrongly accused. The scandal has gained widespread attention through media coverage and a TV drama, finally bringing the long-standing issue to the forefront.