Post Office scandal: Sheffield customers' shock at plans to stick with discredited Horizon IT system

Customers have expressed disbelief that Sheffield postmasters are still losing money to the Horizon IT system - with no official end date announced.

Shocked people threw their support behind Nasar Raoof, of Banner Cross Post Office, after he bravely spoke out about ongoing, unexplained losses.

Mr Raoof owes £2,300 due to issues from the last six months. He has installed CCTV to prove his staff aren’t stealing money and has called for immunity from prosecution until Horizon is scrapped.

On a local Facebook group, dozens of users called for a swift resolution.

One said: "I, like thousands of others, cannot explain how badly I feel about this. What is even more unbelievable is that this is continuing.

"I remember a spate of PO closures in the Crookes and Walkley area and often wonder if there is a connection. I know you do a great deal for your community, despite all this nonsense - good luck and lots of love to you."

Another said: "Unbelievable this is continuing. So sorry to hear this."

One said Banner Cross was "lucky to have Nasar."

They added: "It’s shameful that this is still going on with Horizon and the post office after all these years. I hope this can get sorted quickly."

Mr Raoof said he’d been told postmasters were stuck with Horizon until at least 2025.

Horizon was developed by Fujitsu and implemented in 1999. It quickly led to accounting discrepancies. The Post Office blamed 3,500 sub-postmasters for financial losses. Some 700 were prosecuted and 236 jailed. Today, about £153m compensation has been paid to more than 2,700 claimants. It is estimated that more than 4,000 are eligible.

The scandal hit the headlines after ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office last month.

A Post Office spokesperson said: "There have been several versions of Horizon since its introduction in 1999 and the current version of the system, introduced from 2017, was found in the group litigation to be robust, relative to comparable systems.

"We continue to work with our postmasters to identify and invest in improvements. Current postmasters who have concerns about today’s Horizon system are encouraged to raise these with us - including directly with their area manager - so that we can help.

"It has been our long-stated intent to replace Horizon with a new cloud-based system for a number of years. Around 250 serving postmasters are helping make sure the system is fit for the future with an effective and efficient roll-out across the network."