London & Edinburgh; 12th January 2024 - An ongoing public interest investigation by the software audit firm Engprax has revealed how the British Computer Society (BCS) had a role in the Horizon IT Scandal. Following an intervention by Engprax, the BCS says it has now “pledged to take any appropriate action under our Code of Conduct once these cases conclude and report”. However, Engprax has uncovered evidence indicating this promise is likely to disappoint.
In the scandal, faulty accounting software has been blamed for multiple suicides and what has been described as “the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history”, with those wrongly imprisoned including a pregnant woman.
In 2023, Engprax gained sight of part of a Post Office witness statement marked “confidential” which indicated that Gareth Jenkins , a former Fujitsu employee, provided expert witness evidence against subpostmasters indicating he was a Chartered Engineer and Chartered IT Professional registered via the British Computer Society. (Jenkins recently requested criminal immunity before providing evidence to the public inquiry on his role in the scandal.)
This information was corroborated by a report to Post Office Ltd marked “legally privileged and confidential” by Brian Altman KC stating: “Mr Jenkins deploys (as he must) his expert credentials for him to be received by the court as an expert witness.” Altman continued: “he provides detail of his memberships and associations - he is a member of the British Computer Society (MBCS), a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Chartered IT Professional (CITP)”.
A transcript of court proceedings also demonstrates that Mr Jenkins says in court that he is a member of the British Computer Society, a Chartered Engineer and a Chartered IT Professional.
Research conducted by Engprax and Survation1 reveals that the British public is most likely to trust to a great or moderate extent an engineer who is a Chartered Engineer over 15 other types of software engineers measured, even above those with doctoral degrees - highlighting the power such credentials can have to alter the perception of juries. The BCS, as a member of the Engineering Council UK, is one organisation that is entitled to grant Chartered Engineer status to its members and is required to uphold the conduct of its members. Additionally, whilst Gareth Jenkins is referred to as “Dr Gareth Jenkins” in some documents, Engprax did not find in any documents any indication of a qualification that would entitle the use of such a title.
When Engprax presented information to the BCS requesting comment in December 2023, the BCS acknowledged receipt but failed to respond by the January 2024 deadline, however put out a press release on its website the day before the deadline for request for comment was due to expire.2 The press release claims they have now “pledged to take any appropriate action under our Code of Conduct once these cases conclude and report” - however information seen by Engprax indicates that this pledge may ultimately disappoint. Through examining registration records, Engprax has been able to confirm Gareth Jenkins is no longer a Chartered Engineer, indicating his membership of the BCS likely lapsed. Although Engprax made the BCS aware of this in the original request for comment, the press release by the BCS does not make clear that former members will be the subject of such action or whether such action is even possible.
Dr Junade Ali CEng FIET 3 , CEO of Engprax said: “After Engprax presented the British Computer Society with evidence of its involvement in the Horizon IT Scandal, it has instead chosen to put out a self-congratulatory press release with no remorse or regret expressed for its role in the scandal. As a part of the engineering profession, I am personally disappointed by the BCS' conduct here and their refusal to take responsibility for their role in the scandal.”
Dr Ali went on to say: “It is ironic that the BCS’ own Code of Conduct prohibits members taking advantage of the lack of relevant knowledge of others, however in their press release on this matter they haven’t been wholly transparent about whether they will be able to hold accountable those who have left the BCS before any action was taken.”
Dr Ali concluded: “Following our work in November which revealed the gagging clauses used by the Post Office and others, and the systematic retaliation against whistleblowers in the UK, we will continue our investigative work in the public interest.”
In November 2023, Engprax revealed that 75% of software engineers in the UK have faced retaliation the last time they reported wrongdoing at work and barriers to whistleblowing.1 Engprax continues to investigate the role of professional bodies and regulators involved in the Horizon IT Scandal, as part of its public interest work.
Gareth Jenkins could not be immediately reached for comment.
Ends
1 The Dark Side of Software Development - Dr Junade Ali CEng FIET served as Principal Investigator for the study. Opinion polling conducted by Survation. Survation is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Survation is a Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner. All UK adults polling fieldwork was done between 29th September and 8th October (1,989 nationally representative sample, providing 95% confidence the ‘true’ result will fall within 2.20% of the sample result). Software Engineer polling fieldwork conducted on the 25th October (n = 280, providing 95% confidence the ‘true’ result will fall within 5.85% of the sample result).
2 “ BCS Statement on the Post Office Horizon IT Scandal ”
3 Dr Junade Ali MSc PhD CEng FIET is a British software engineer and computer scientist. “Junade” is pronounced Jun-aid (with a hard “J”) - recorded pronunciations can be found on HowToPronounce and Dr Ali’s LinkedIn profile .
Note to Editors
For further information please contact the Engprax Ltd press office: contact@engprax.com
About Engprax
Engprax is a Scottish company offering software audits, investigations and consultancy - minimising the risks associated with software whilst maximising reward, to ensure all of society sees the benefits from technology. To learn more, please visit: www.engprax.com .
