Court IT system 'putting justice at risk', staff claim

One critic likened the courts IT system problems with the Post Office Horizon scandal

An IT system is causing key information about court cases in England and Wales to change or disappear and is putting justice at risk, the BBC has been told.

One legal adviser revealed how he entered a driving ban in the system, called Common Platform, only to later discover the result had changed.

Staff say warnings about alleged faults, describing it as "fundamentally flawed", have been ignored.

The government said there was no evidence justice is being compromised.

Common Platform was built to replace outdated software in the criminal courts with one system which allows judges, lawyers, the CPS and courts to access case information in one place.

The new system, which started going live in 2020 and has a £300m budget, is being used in 136 courts in England and Wales - equivalent to 60% of the total - with the rest due to adopt it by early next year.

'Scary'

James (not his real name) is a magistrates' court legal adviser - a lawyer whose job it is to provide legal advice to lay magistrates and manage proceedings in the court.

Under the new Common Platform regime, he is also responsible for entering the results of cases into the system.

He told the BBC Radio 4's File on 4 programme he correctly entered the results of a case in which a man was to be banned from driving only to discover later the result had changed.

"The results that appeared on Common Platform were not the results we imposed," he said.

"It's a good job we remembered the case otherwise it would have been missed.

"That's scary because this person wouldn't have been disqualified, they'd have been on the road - a threat to others."

Numerous other court staff also told the BBC of instances in which key information disappeared, including pleas entered and the case result.

File on 4 has also been given details of a case in which an individual was held in prison for days longer than they should have been, after a Common Platform-related fault.

The PCS union, which represents court staff, claims repeated warnings about faults have been ignored by the courts service - which prompted legal advisors and court associates in the magistrates' court to vote to take strike action over the system starting on 10 September.

Horizon scandal

James is among those who said he has warned the court service about faults with Common Platform.

He likens the way it has handled the roll-out of Common Platform to the Post Office IT scandal - which saw more than 700 branch managers given criminal convictions due to faults in the Horizon software.

He said: "I remember watching the programme on the Horizon system for the Post Office, thinking 'that's what we've got - there's a system that's changing things and not reflecting the truth.' It makes me feel quite sick thinking about it.

"You feel so helpless because you report it and nobody wants to know."

Professor Alan Woodward, an IT expert and visiting professor at the University of Surrey, urged the court service to pause its roll-out and engage with the concerns being raised.

"Everybody was telling sub-postmasters it was their fault and only many years later did the Post Office admit actually the software was in error", he said.

"People know software is not infallible. You've got to bring them [staff] along with you - demonstrate and prove to them it is actually working."

A HM Courts and Tribunal Service spokesperson said: "Common Platform is fundamental to modernising the court system - replacing out of date systems not fit for purpose and freeing up court staff for the work they can add most value to.

"It has already successfully managed over 158,000 criminal cases and there is no evidence that Common Platform is compromising justice or putting parties at risk.

"We will continue to work closely with staff to support them through this transition and want to thank all the judges, court staff and others who have contributed to its design and implementation."

In response to parallels being drawn with the Post Office Horizon scandal a HMCTS spokesperson added: "We have never ignored concerns that are raised and in July 2021 we took action to pause the rollout of Common Platform as we addressed issues that users were facing."

• Listen to File on 4: Justice on Trial at 20:00 on Tuesday, 6 September, on BBC Radio 4 or download the podcast on BBC Sounds.