Sometimes you just do not believe – fall guy or incompetent? – final work on admin

I was a software engineer in a company producing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software before I joined the University. As such I’m really not believing what I’m reading about Horizon software and its management. 

Today’s the first of four days of testimony from Gareth Jenkins, the former Fujitsu engineer who helped design the faulty Horizon software, About him:

• Graduated with a maths degree in 1973 and went straight to work for ICL, later bought by Fujitsu.
• Jenkins went on to become one of the firm’s select “distinguished engineers” 
• Involvement with the Post Office began in 1996 when he was asked to design features of the Horizon programme, so he had a deep expertise in the programme’s inner workings.
• The Post Office frequently called on him to give evidence in legal cases where people it was prosecuting were arguing the crimes they were accused of were due to problems with Horizon.
• From 2005, he was pivotal in helping the Post Office in court but did not flag up crucial evidence about known problems with the system.
• He is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Now that, in terms of ethics and morals, is not good. These are some points made on the BBC website. This is what was presented

• Thought Horizon ‘was working well’ – robust was another word used
• Was confident bugs were being fixed quickly
• Denies he was ‘chief architect’ of Horizon system
• Unaware of advice he was ‘fatally undermined’ as witness
• Never aware of duties as expert witness
• Post Office and its lawyers ‘put words in my mouth’.
• Was aware Post Office lawyers changed his reports – said he did not find unusual at the time
• Has ‘no recollection’ of discussion on Horizon bugs
• Thought some bugs could be ‘lived with’
• Accepted he “should have been doing more research” about errors, in hindsight
• Felt under pressure from the Post Office to give evidence in court cases
• He said he was never made aware about his duties as an expert witness in court. Saw documents which set out the legal obligations of an expert witness – but said he didn’t know they applied to him. Should have potentially expected to reveal more of what he knew about Horizon errors.
• Another Fujitsu engineer warned in 2006 that Horizon’s performance was “plainly inadequate” and they were “fobbing postmasters off”

And this is only the first day of four.

What I find incredible is that Fujitsu software engineers, knowing of bugs, did not try to find a solution. We used to, and spent time getting stuff right. We did not allow bugs to go through unchecked and unrecorded.

This from Peter Ruddick, BBC business reporter, at the inquiry

• However, I am struck that time and again today his defence has been that he was never responsible for the system as a whole.
• Was this an honest misunderstanding or a cover-up?

Hence my question, fall guy or incompetent? And for such a cavalier attitude both by the engineer and by the Post Office and their lawyers – ethics and morals do not seem to exist for any of them. Is this what happens when you take public bodies out of public ownership and let the market control everything?

Today has been finalising the passing across of as much original material I can and giving people access to it. It’s been a slow old process, uploading much information. However it’s done. They have three weeks to ask clarification questions.

I went out yesterday evening and found the the car, when parked, was widdling – water appearing behind the front offside wheel. Took it back to the garage who confirmed it was condensate from the aircon. Phew.

Tomorrow in for resit support and a college meeting. Wonder how many will turn up to either.

Music

More music  for summer.

Frederick Delius (1862-1934), In a Summer Garden, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Sir Andrew Davis