UK Courts Service Faces Evidence Loss IT Bug Scandal

A leaked report has revealed that the HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) took several years to address an IT bug in its case management software that caused evidence to go missing, be overwritten, or obscured from view in civil, family, and tribunal courts across England and Wales. This flaw potentially led judges to make rulings on incomplete evidence, affecting cases that determine significant outcomes such as child custody and benefit appeals, notably in the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. Despite internal findings that no evidence showed case outcomes were affected, former Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk and Sir James Munby, former head of the High Court’s family division, condemned the situation as a serious scandal and cover-up. The bug was discovered on the desks of senior HMCTS leadership in March 2024 but was not disclosed to the Lord Chancellor at the time, raising concerns about transparency and accountability. HMCTS admitted it did not fully understand the extent of data corruption and chose not to inform judges and lawyers, fearing it might cause more harm than good. The issue has drawn parallels to the Horizon Post Office scandal, highlighting systemic risks within the justice system due to technical failures.