BBC viewers were in total shock this evening as a massive Post Office bombshell was unveiled in Will Mellor's new moving documentary.
Surviving the Post Office aired on BBC One this evening, with actor Will Mellor, who played former Subpostmaster Lee Castleton in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, presenting the moving programme. In the half hour long show, Will travelled England, first meeting Lee Castleton, whom he played, in Scarborough.
In March 2024, the Government introduced legislation to automatically quash convictions relating to the Horizon Scandal. But despite the awful repercussions of the Horizon software used, the Post Office is still using it.
As revealed in the programme this evening, viewers were shocked to discover that after the mistakes made in the past, Horizon is still being used by the Post Office. The Post Office's website even has an FAQ section on the scandal which states: "Is Horizon still being used?"
The website then states: "Yes. There have been several versions of Horizon since its introduction in 1999 and the current version of the system, introduced [in] 2017, was found in the group litigation to be robust, relative to comparable systems. But we are not complacent about that and are continuing to work, together with our postmasters, to make improvements.
"We will be moving away from Horizon to a new IT cloud-based system that will be more user-friendly and easier to adapt for new products and services. This is currently being developed with the involvement of our Postmasters."
Reacting to the shocking documentary on social media, viewers flocked to X to share their thoughts. Many were gobsmacked by the bombshell of Post Office workers still being made to use the Horizon software.
One person said: "I'm just watching Surving the Post Office and they are still using Horizon. Who knew? I'm lost for words. Has the Post Office learnt nothing." While another echoed: "And still using the same system haven’t the post office learnt anything!"
A third person then said: "F***ing hell, the Post Office is still using Horizon. Gobsmacking." A fourth wrote: "What on earth is going on with the Post Office? They are still using Horizon and there are still ongoing unexplained losses. Shocking."
A fifth person then went on to add: "Watching ‘Surviving the Post Office’ in BBC One and I am shocked and horrified to learn the postmasters are STILL using the Horizon software and are STILL being told they have shortfalls. Albeit the “losses” are now written off, it is madness that Horizon is still being used!"
While a sixth person chimed in when they penned: "Extraordinary piece of work by Will Mellor.. Surviving The Post Office..and they are still using The Horizon System..unbelievable…when this enquiry concludes the s**t is really gonna hit the fan..Chief Execs must be made accountable."
Someone else then praised Will for his work on the documentary, gushingly writing on X: "I’m really impressed with Will @Mellor76’s ability to turn his hand to documentary making. He’s showing huge amounts of empathy and understanding."