Michael Gove apologises over divorce form computer error

Updated

Justice Secretary Michael Gove has apologised over a computer blunder which could have affected 17,000 people going through divorce proceedings.

Mr Gove said it was "deeply regrettable" that there was an error in an online form used by parties in a split to calculate their assets.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched an urgent investigation after the error emerged, but couples involved in divorce proceedings since April last year may have been affected.

Mr Gove said: "It is deeply regrettable that a form was online since April 2014 which has meant that up to 17,000 people may have had the allocation of resources - at what is inevitably a very stressful time in their life - miscalculated."

The glitch, in Form E on the MoJ website, was rectified earlier this month and an email address has been set up for anyone with concerns about their settlement.

Mr Gove told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "My apologies to all those affected. We have an an email address - formE@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk - for any of those 17,000 who may have been affected to contact us."

The error was spotted by lay expert Nicola Matheson-Durrant who uncovered the problem after a client encountered difficulties.

She said it took the MoJ "over a week" to correct the problem once she had notified them.

Mr Gove said he was "really grateful to her for raising it" and insisted that the form was changed "relatively rapidly but there were some other changes that needed to be made which are now being made."

Ms Matheson-Durrant, from the Family Law Clinic in Berkshire, said not all couples would be affected, but they should check that their Form E is correct.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is only about litigants in person, people who haven't got solicitors, and people who have used solicitors who have used that particular version of the Form E - there are other versions which don't have this error.

"The problem arises if you have filled the form in, using that form and filled in all the boxes and let the form calculate for you and summarise all the totals for you.

"If you have printed the form out yourself and handwritten the information in, that isn't where the problem is, obviously.

"So what I would advise is that people look at their Form E first, see what versions they have got - both of their Form E and the other partner's Form E - to see if any of those coincide with the faulty Form E.

"Then, if you have used a solicitor, contact them and say there may be a problem. If they haven't used a solicitor, contact the Ministry of Justice."

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