Fujitsu Continues to Receive Government Contracts Despite Promises Not To Following Post Office Scandal
The firm behind the Horizon software that led to hundreds of sub-postmasters being wrongly prosecuted is still being given government deals. Fujitsu vowed not to take new taxpayer-funded public works when the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office sparked outrage in January.
Outrage Over Fujitsu’s Continued Involvement in Government Contracts
The decision was welcomed by campaigners who were disbelieving at the cash being awarded to Fujitsu since its role in the scandal became clear. It had been given £4.9 billion in contracts since December 2019 when the High Court ruled that the Horizon software was riddled with bugs, errors, and defects. But weeks after the announcement, the Japanese firm landed a £155,000 deal for the National Nuclear Laboratory.
Fujitsu Defends Its Actions
Company execs have told staff there was no “blanket ban” on public sector contracts. Fujitsu UK’s public sector chief Dave Riley said in a memo it was just an “extra gateway check we need to go through”. Asked about new deals, Fujitsu said it “continues to work closely with the Cabinet Office to ensure the guidelines we have voluntarily put in place are being followed”.
The Impact of the Horizon Software Faults
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted because of faults with Horizon, which was developed by the Japanese IT company Fujitsu. The landmark Bates v Post Office High Court case – portrayed in a recent ITV drama – ran from 2018 to 2019 and was brought by 555 sub-postmasters. After the ITV show, Fujitsu’s Europe CEO Paul Patterson apologized to sub-postmasters for the company’s role in the Horizon IT scandal.