Post Office scandal: Key questions for Fujitsu
Fujitsu is the private company at the heart of the Post Office scandal, which has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history.
The £20bn Japanese technology company developed the Horizon computer accounting system.
The European boss of Fujitsu, Paul Patterson, will face MPs on the Business and Trade select committee at 11:30 GMT on Tuesday.
They want to know how faults with the Horizon system saw nearly a thousand Post Office branch managers prosecuted for theft and false accounting.
Fujitsu’s long and continued position at the heart of government technology projects began when it acquired a British company called ICL in the 1990s. ICL was a bit like the UK version of IBM – a blue-chip company trusted by governments to deliver complex IT projects.
Buying it gave Fujitsu a seat at the top table when government contracts were awarded.
Fujitsu has key questions to answer.
When did Fujitsu know something was wrong?
In 1996, Fujitsu won the contract to computerise transactions at the Post Office.
It was rolled out in 1999 – and there were reports of problems almost immediately. Either there was widespread fraud committed by sub-postmasters and postmistresses, or the computer system was fault.
Why did the reports of widespread problems not ring alarm bells?
Some commentators have said the crux of this is that Fujitsu and the Post Office were more inclined to believe in the dishonesty of sub-postmasters and mistresses than believe that the fault lay with them – even when the evidence began to mount that the opposite was the case.
Did Fujitsu employees lie?
Paula Vennells, the Post Office boss from 2012 to 2019, has said she relied on assurances from Fujitsu that the Horizon system was “like Fort Knox”.
Fujitsu told the Post Office that no-one apart from branch managers themselves could access or alter Horizon records – meaning the blame for mistakes could only rest with sub-postmasters.
That turned out to be untrue. Two Fujitsu witnesses are being investigated for perjury.
Will Fujitsu pay compensation?
In 2019, the Court of Appeal found there were defects in the Fujitsu system. The Post Office agreed to pay compensation to 555 sub-postmasters and mistresses.
There are now three Post Office compensation schemes available to victims. More than 4,000 people in total have been told they are eligible for payouts.
The government has budgeted £1bn for compensation payments.
Will Fujitsu also pay compensation for its part in the scandal?
Why is Fujitsu still being paid?
The Horizon system is still in place. In fact, the Post Office has paid Fujitsu over £95m to extend the Horizon contract until the end of 2025. It is thought that replacing the system would take years and cost hundreds of millions.
Fujitsu has continued to win other government contracts worth billions in total – with HMRC, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and other departments – which begs the question: why should Fujitsu be trusted with delivering key services?
