Computer Weekly’s Karl Flinders on ZX81, Post Office case

Karl Flinders, chief reporter at Computer Weekly, has reported extensively on the Post Office Horizon scandal. Since 2010 he has produced almost 700 articles on the case and followed major legal developments over more than a decade.

Flinders joined Computer Weekly in 2007 after studying development geography and journalism and working on political and reseller titles. He did not own a computer until 1998 and once used a Sinclair ZX81 as a frisbee. Before an early job interview he asked a friend what ADSL meant.

His investigation into the Horizon accounting system began in 2010. About 300 of his pieces were published before the case received broader public attention in 2024. His reporting documented legal challenges, hearings and campaigns by affected postmasters.

In 2019 a High Court ruling found in favour of claimants in an action led by Alan Bates and the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance. In 2021 the Royal Courts of Justice quashed a number of wrongful convictions. Flinders recalled being ‘shaking’ after the 2019 hearing and described the 2021 quashing as ‘pure joy.’

Outside the Horizon reporting, Flinders covers IT outsourcing and financial services technology. He wrote that early outsourcing work focused on offshoring and ‘lift and shift’ projects to cut costs. He has reported that outsourcing now often aims to access specialised technical skills through external partners.

On financial technology, Flinders has documented the growth of regulated, cloud-based services that allow non-bank firms to offer financial products. His reporting has examined effects on vendors, corporate clients and regulators.

Flinders has also noted a wider public discussion about artificial intelligence. He has observed conversations about AI in everyday settings and said younger people view AI as a practical tool for learning and work. He suggested a robot journalist could be capable of producing a similar column by 2036.

The British Computer Society has recognised his reporting with an award. He wrote, ‘I never really had any interest in computers,’ and reflected that his work helped expose what he described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history.