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How the Post Office wrecked the lives of its own workers
By Richard Brooks & Nick Wallis
CONCEIVED in 1996 as one of the first private finance initiative (PFI) contracts, between the Post Office and the Benefits Agency on the one hand and computer company ICL on the other, the Horizon IT system had an unpromising start. It had been set up to create a swipe card system for payment of pensions and benefits from Post Office branch counters. But, as with most mega-IT projects of the time, it soon fell victim to over-ambition, management consultancy snake oil and the inability of a PFI contract to deliver a complex public service.
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Danegeld payment solves strike crisis… Lettuce outlasts Truss again… Fears over housing market revival… Dee Nial: Ex-Conservative MP writes for the Eye… Cow's return from space in doubt… Bin chaos hits Nurseryland… That Republican rally speech in full… Gnomemart: the Fall-staff Fatsuit… Isabel Oakeshott's Diary, as told to Craig Brown.
Court of opinion
MD on expert medical witnesses in trials
Strife of Brian
The King of Troubles: a summer special
A right wedge
Who is the Telegraph's highest-paid Tory MP columnist?
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MD on expert medical witnesses in trials
Strife of Brian
The King of Troubles: a summer special
A right wedge
Who is the Telegraph's highest-paid Tory MP columnist?
Read these stories and much more - only in the magazine. Subscribe here to get delivery direct to your home and never miss an issue!