Members of Parliament are calling for Fujitsu, the company behind the Post Office Horizon scandal, to be barred from Government contracts, citing its failure to contribute any compensation to the victims. The Business and Trade Committee (BTC) stated that Fujitsu has 'yet to contribute a penny' to the nearly £2 billion redress bill for sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted, while continuing to profit from public funds. Liam Byrne, chairman of the BTC, emphasized the unacceptability of this situation, highlighting that taxpayers are currently covering the costs for Fujitsu’s errors.

The Post Office has paid approximately £2.5 billion to Fujitsu, including over £600 million since deciding to seek alternatives to the flawed Horizon software. Although Fujitsu announced a self-imposed moratorium on bidding for new Government contracts in January 2024, it continues to supply its IT systems to the Post Office and other Government departments through existing contracts. The BTC has urged for an expansion of this moratorium, as Fujitsu still bids for public contracts not covered by its current restrictions.

The Post Office Horizon scandal is recognized as Britain's most significant miscarriage of justice, where faulty accounting software developed by the Japanese firm Fujitsu wrongly indicated money was missing from branch accounts. This led to hundreds of post office operators being wrongly prosecuted for theft and fraud between 1999 and 2015. The widespread anger intensified after an ITV drama brought the issue to public attention, prompting announcements of compensation for the victims.

Despite progress, the BTC has identified 'serious structural failings' within the compensation process. Thousands of victims are still awaiting fair redress, grappling with slow, bureaucratic, and often 'retraumatising' administrative procedures and inadequate offers. Across the various redress schemes—the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), the Group Litigation Order (GLO), and the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS)—over 11,500 claimants have received payments totaling around £1.48 billion so far. The total bill is expected to rise to approximately £2 billion once legal and administrative costs are factored in.

The HSS, administered by the Post Office, allows successful claimants to receive a fixed sum of £75,000 or pursue a higher amount. However, the committee noted that offers under this scheme were routinely overturned and increased after an appeal, underscoring systemic issues. Fujitsu has acknowledged a 'moral obligation' to pay financial redress and admitted knowing about the software's faults since the 1990s, yet it has not made any interim payment nor agreed on a final figure. The BTC deemed this failure to even offer an interim amount as 'unacceptable'.

A spokesperson for Fujitsu stated that the company continues to work with the UK Government to adhere to its voluntary bidding restrictions and is engaged in discussions regarding its contribution to compensation. The Post Office welcomed the committee's scrutiny, reporting that 87% of eligible HSS applications have received an offer, with £882 million paid through the scheme, and efforts are ongoing to process applications swiftly.

Furthermore, the committee revealed emerging evidence suggesting that Horizon’s predecessor, Capture, may have harbored similar flaws, potentially contributing to additional unsafe convictions. The BTC warned this could be the 'tip of another iceberg' and called for Parliament to act quickly to quash these convictions and ensure justice for all victims. A compensation scheme for sub-postmasters affected by the faulty Capture system was launched last year.

Both the government and the shadow postal affairs minister, Tory MP Dame Harriett Baldwin, have echoed the call for Fujitsu to contribute to the redress costs. The government spokesperson affirmed that it is 'crucial that Fujitsu meets its moral obligation' to contribute to the scandal's total costs. Ministers are urged to outline steps to recoup money from Fujitsu, ensuring the company bears the financial responsibility for this historic miscarriage of justice.