Business

UK Prime Minister says will do 'everything we can' to address Post Office IT scandal

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addresses the wrongful conviction of more than 700 people who ran post offices between 1999 and 2005, saying that the government will do "everything we can do make this right". The prosecutions for theft and false accounting have received new attention following a new television drama about one branch manager's fight for justice. The Post Office began installing Horizon IT software made by Fujitsu in the late 1990s, but flaws in its programming showed up deficits in branch accounts. Postal service executives, refusing to acknowledge problems with the software, forced workers to repay the shortfalls. Some were imprisoned or left out of pocket, while others failed to find other jobs and lost their homes. Speaking at an event in Lancashire, the prime minister says "it's simply wrong what happened" and that new efforts are being made to hurry pardons and compensation for those who have not yet received them. SOUNDBITE