The private firm at the center of the Post Office scandal—dubbed the largest miscarriage of justice in UK history—is Fujitsu.
The Horizon computer accounting system was created by the £20 billion Japanese technology corporation.
Paul Patterson, the European head of Fujitsu, will address members of the Business and Trade select committee on Tuesday at 11:30 GMT.
They are interested in learning how almost a thousand Post Office branch managers were charged with theft and false accounting due to flaws in the Horizon system.
Fujitsu’s acquisition of the British business ICL in the 1990s marked the beginning of its lengthy and ongoing role at the center of government technology projects. Comparable to IBM in the UK, ICL was a reputable business that governments relied on to complete intricate IT projects.
Acquiring it allowed Fujitsu to sit at the top table when it came to awarding government contracts.
Key questions for Fujitsu to address
When did Fujitsu realize there was a problem?
Fujitsu was awarded the contract in 1996 to computerize Post Office transactions.
When it was launched in 1999, allegations of issues surfaced nearly immediately. Either the computer system was flawed, or sub-postmasters and postmistresses engaged in extensive fraud.
Why did the reports of pervasive issues not raise red flags?
According to some analysts, the main point of this is that, despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Fujitsu and the Post Office were more likely to accept the dishonesty of sub-postmasters and mistresses than to accept their own responsibility.
Did workers at Fujitsu lie?
From 2012 to 2019, Paula Vennells, the head of the Post Office, stated that she trusted Fujitsu’s claims that the Horizon system was “like Fort Knox”.
Fujitsu informed the Post Office that only branch managers had access to or authority to change Horizon records, which meant that sub-postmasters could be held accountable for any errors.
That proved not to be accurate. The possibility of two Fujitsu witnesses lying is being looked into.
Will Fujitsu provide recompense?
The Fujitsu system was judged to have flaws in 2019 by the Court of Appeal. A compensation agreement was reached between the Post Office and 555 sub-postmasters and mistresses.
Victims can now choose from three Post Office compensation packages. In total, over 4,000 people have been informed that they qualify for compensation.
£1 billion has been set aside by the government for compensation.
Will Fujitsu compensate for its involvement in the incident as well?
Is Fujitsu still receiving payment?
There is still use of the Horizon system. Actually, in order to keep the Horizon contract in place until the end of 2025, the Post Office paid Fujitsu more than £95 million. It is estimated that updating the system will require hundreds of millions of dollars and take years.
Since Fujitsu has gone on to obtain billion-dollar government contracts with the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, HMRC, and other agencies, it begs the question: why should we trust Fujitsu to provide essential services?