Fujitsu ‘not a parasite’, boss says while refusing to give redress figure for Horizon IT scandal victims | Post Office Horizon scandal
Fujitsu’s European boss told MPs the company was “not a parasite” after being criticized for continuing to earn hundreds of millions of pounds from UK government contracts while refusing to give a compensation figure for victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.
Two years ago Paul Patterson said Fujitsu had a “moral obligation” to pay financial compensation to Horizon victims – admitting it had known its accounting IT system was faulty since the 1990s – while admitting the government had estimated the final cost of the payouts to taxpayers at £1.8bn.
On Tuesday, Patterson was taken to task by the Commons business and trade committee over Fujitsu’s refusal to disclose a compensation figure or make provision for it in the publicly listed Japanese company’s financial accounts.
Labor MP and committee chairman Liam Byrne accused Fujitsu of “acting like a parasite on the British state” as it continues to make millions from government IT contracts while refusing to commit to the Horizon financial compensation figure.
The scandal, in which more than 1,000 people were unfairly pursued legally over inconsistencies in post office branch accounts linked to faulty software developed by Fujitsu, has been labeled the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history.
Patterson told the select committee on Tuesday that Fujitsu UK had contracts with the government. Continue operating the aging Horizon system for the Post OfficeIf not terminated early it will be worth around £500 million.
In January 2023, Fujitsu voluntarily notified the Cabinet Office that it would not bid for new UK public contracts pending the publication of the final report of the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal; It is expected later this year.
“We’re not parasites, president,” Patterson told Byrne. “We have not bid for new government jobs. The government has the choice whether to extend these contracts.”
“If you want us to leave those agreements, we will too. I think so be it.” [would] could harm society and the UK government. The Government and the Post Office asked us to extend the Post Office contract. We don’t want to do this. We do this because the government asked us to do it. “We are definitely not parasites.”
Patterson said he stood by his previous comments that Fujitsu had a “moral obligation” to offer some level of financial compensation for its role in the scandal. Its involvement included providing data used by the Post Office in investigations into branch owner-operators and enabling its employees to access and modify Horizon data remotely.
The company will determine the level of financial compensation for victims when the inquiry, led by Sir Wyn Williams, publishes the latest in a series of reports, he said.
To date, Williams has released only the first volume (last July) of his two-year investigation, which found the scandal may have led to more than 13 suicides.
“The last time we spoke, I agreed with you about the moral contribution,” Patterson said. “I have held this position for the last two years since I saw you.
“We need to be informed of Ser Wyn’s report. We want to see that report. We will decide on the amount when we get the final report. We were involved from the beginning, [Horizon] There were bugs and errors in the systems and [we] assisted the Post Office in prosecuting sub-postmasters.”
The latest UK government figures show: £1.32 billion has been paid out to more than 10,000 applicants so far.
