Post Office inquiry: Former govt known as ‘gatekeeper of the distant entry secret’

The Post Office’s ex-accounting chief says he had “other priorities” when requested on the inquiry why he didn’t spotlight inaccuracies in his report after it was revealed.

Rod Ismay authored the primary report into defective accounting system Horizon, in August 2010, which concluded the Fujitsu software program was sturdy.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters have been wrongfully convicted between 1999 and 2015 because of flaws inside the system.

An electronic mail trade in December 2010, a number of months after his report was revealed, refers to proof “that Fujitsu can actually put an entry into branch accounts remotely”.

It additionally described “a problem generated by the system” which “impacted 60 branches and meant a loss/gain incurred in a particular week in effect disappeared from the system”.

The undeniable fact that department accounts might be accessed remotely was a big piece of proof undermining convictions.

At the inquiry into the Post Office scandal, Mr Ismay was informed that the e-mail assertion “undermined” his report.

He responded: “Looking at it now, yes, I can see that undermines my report.” But he added that his report was “written before this”.

He continued: “Looking at it in hindsight, sure, I may need wished to revisit it however I had different competing priorities occurring…

“It might have been helpful to notify other people that this issue had come to light but in the context of everything that I was doing, I don’t think it occurred to me at the time.”

Jason Beer KC replied saying that it was “a bit beyond helpful – maybe essential?” to which Mr Ismay agreed.

Mr Ismay has been described because the “gatekeeper of the remote access secret”, the inquiry heard.

Giving proof, Mr Ismay rejected barrister Flora Page’s description, when she requested if he was “the Post Office’s gatekeeper for the remote access secret”.

Ms Page, a lawyer for victims, questioned whether or not Mr Ismay’s crew “signed off” when Fujitsu sought approval for remotely accessing Post Office department accounts.

He responded that his crew have been “one of the people approached” as proven in a “three options paper”.

When pushed additional on ‘routine’ tampering by Fujitsu with accounts and if his Post Office crew particularly gave approval, he replied: “No, I don’t think so.”

Mr Ismay was later requested if he thought-about his report back to be “a feather” in his “Post Office cap”, to which he replied that it had been “a matter of pride” that he might clarify why Horizon was sturdy on the time.

Read extra:
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The inquiry heard how the ‘Ismay Report’ was put collectively in two weeks and that no unbiased report was carried out as a part of it.

Mr Ismay described his report as “not an investigation”.

Three years after its conclusion, the forensic accountants Second Sight launched their first interim report in July 2013, highlighting flaws within the Horizon pc system inflicting money shortfalls.

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Four months later, regardless of proof pointing to the data of distant entry and bugs in Horizon, Mr Ismay was described as saying his report “still holds good”.

He informed the inquiry he wished he had been in a position to spotlight points:

“… but with everything that was going on at the time”, he mentioned, “I hesitate to keep saying I forget things, but even a couple of years onwards, there are so many things going on you don’t remember everything that happened.”

He was requested why, regardless of the proof, he stored “peddling the line” from his 2010 report.

Mr Ismay repeated that he had “so many things going on, and I would have kept referring back to that paper.”

Jason Beer KC requested him if he “knowingly” regarded his report as a “guiding star” regardless of data rising that “directly undermined it”.

Mr Ismay responded that he recognised his response that he had “so many things going on” sounded “bad”.

The inquiry continues on Tuesday with Mark Davies, former group communications and company affairs director on the Post Office, giving proof.