Post Office names new Horizon IT suppliers replacing Fujitsu after scandal
The Post Office has announced the appointment of two new suppliers, Accenture and One View Commerce (OVC), to manage its controversial Horizon IT system, eventually replacing Fujitsu.
These companies were awarded contracts to operate the existing system and develop new technologies for the postal service’s accounting needs.
The Horizon system is at the center of a long-running scandal that led to the wrongful prosecution and conviction of nearly 1,000 people in the UK between 1999 and 2015.
Faulty versions of accounting software previously run by Japanese firm Fujitsu incorrectly showed financial discrepancies at Post Office branches, including postmasters.
Victims have since received around £1.5 billion in compensation through various schemes.
Despite the widespread scandal, the Post Office has continued to use different versions of the software and recently extended its latest contract until March 2027.
However, the organization announced its intention to migrate from Fujitsu and the Horizon system as quickly as possible and plans to develop an entirely new system.
The new contracts will see Accenture and OVC take over the operation of Horizon, while also working together to create technology it hopes to replace the system and that could be used by postmasters in the future.
Fujitsu will continue to support the work until the official launch and there will be no immediate changes to staff or Post Office branches.
Fujitsu has faced harsh criticism from a group of MPs for failing to contribute financially to the nearly £1.5bn compensation bill for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Parliamentarians are also demanding urgent action to annul convictions that preceded the infamous Horizon system.
The Business and Trade Committee (BTC), tasked with examining government departments, found “serious structural flaws” in the compensation process.
This was despite more than 11,500 claimants receiving nearly £1.48 billion as of February 27 through various schemes set up to compensate postmasters affected by the faulty Horizon software.
Taking into account previous Capture system payments as well as legal and administrative costs, the overall cost of compensation is estimated to reach around £2bn.
BTC said progress had been made in compensating victims, but thousands of deputy postmasters were still waiting for compensation.
