The Government is facing calls to halt Fujitsu – the IT company at the centre of the Post Office scandal – from winning any new Whitehall contracts.
Amid growing public fury at the wrongful prosecution of subpostmasters for alleged fraud, MPs and peers are demanding the Japanese-based firm be suspended from getting fresh deals.
Fujitsu created the faulty accounting software called Horizon that made it appear as though money was missing from Post Office branches.
More than 700 branch managers were handed criminal convictions in what has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.
A public inquiry into the scandal is ongoing and anger at the treatment of subpostmasters has grown after an ITV drama returned the issue to the spotlight.
This has also seen a fresh focus on how Fujitsu, despite their role in the scandal, has won nearly 200 public contracts with a value of about £6.7billion over the past decade.
According to data compiled by Tussell, the Government procurement analysts, Fujitsu’s deals include providing IT services to schools in Northern Ireland (worth £485million) and infrastructure used by HM Revenue & Customs.
The Government is facing calls to halt Fujitsu – the IT company at the centre of the Post Office scandal – from winning any new Whitehall contracts
Sub-postmasters took their fight for justice to the High Court after falling victim to faulty accounting software called Horizon
Fujitsu created the Horizon software that made it appear as though money was missing from Post Office branches
In October 2022, Fujitsu was awarded a contract worth up to £5million to work on the UK’s new emergency alert system
Senior Conservative MP David Davis suggested Fujitsu should be frozen out of future Government contracts in the wake of the Post Office scandal
In October 2022, Fujitsu was awarded a contract worth up to £5million to work on the UK’s new emergency alert system.
The system, which is designed to warn the public of life-threatening situations such as extreme weather, was tested in April last year.
But users of the Three mobile phone network said they did not receive the test alert due to what was suspected to be a technical glitch.
The list of 197 deals won by Fujitsu since June 2012, as compiled by Tussell, includes a nearly £2.4billion contract for the Horizon system itself, with a £36million extension to keep the system running until 2025.
Senior Conservative MP David Davis suggested Fujitsu should be frozen out of future Government contracts in the wake of the Post Office scandal.
‘I think it slightly depends on how they respond to the question I’ve just given – how many of these people did you actually meddle in their computers?,’ the ex-Cabinet minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Pressed on whether contracts should be put on hold, he added: ‘I would certainly suspend any possibility of new contracts until that is over.
‘What I do not want to see is one injustice followed by another. So we have got to stick with some process in this and make sure we are actually checking the facts and doing what we should do.’
Lord Arbuthnot, the former Tory MP who previously led a fight in the House of Commons on behalf of subpostmasters, said he was perplexed why Whitehall continued to favour the company.
‘I can’t understand why a company that behaves in such a devious way is still winning contracts,’ he told the Sunday Times.
Former subpostmaster Lee Castleton, one of the victims of the scandal, also expressed incredulity at how Fujitsu continues to earn millions from public contracts.
‘It’s crazy, isn’t it? I don’t think Fujitsu will ever be held accountable,’ he told the newspaper.
Asked today if the Government would reconsider working with Fujitsu in the future, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: ‘The cupability or otherwise of Fujitsu is something that is being examined as part of the independent inquiry process. So I’m unable to fully opine at this point.’
Pressed on whether the Government would consider freezing out Fujitsu from the awarding of new public contracts while the inquiry continues, the PM’s spokesman replied: ‘We wouldn’t look to act before we have established the full facts regarding Fujitsu’s cuplability or otherwise.
‘That work is being led by [inquiry chair] Sir Wyn Williams and we will act once he provides further information.’
Kevin Hollinrake, the postal services minister, last week told Times Radio that the Government ‘definitely should look at’ recouping money from Fujitsu to fund compensation payments to subpostmasters.
A Fujitsu spokesman told : ‘The current Post Office Horizon IT statutory inquiry is examining complex events stretching back over 20 years to understand who knew what, when, and what they did with that knowledge.
‘The inquiry has reinforced the devastating impact on postmasters’ lives and that of their families, and Fujitsu has apologised for its role in their suffering.
‘Fujitsu is fully committed to supporting the inquiry in order to understand what happened and to learn from it.
‘Out of respect for the inquiry process, it would be inappropriate for Fujitsu to comment further at this time.’