Post Office chiefs could FINALLY sue Fujitsu over IT scandal which led to postmasters being wrongly jailed
- Hundreds of postmasters were wrongly jailed because of Fujitsu IT glitches
- Fujitsu now faces a public inquiry to figure out whether the company is at fault
- The Government hopes the inquiry could help them recoup compensation costs
Post Office bosses are said to be preparing to sue the computing company whose IT glitches led to postmasters being wrongly jailed.
Over 15 years hundreds were unjustly convicted of stealing from their own tills when in fact dozens of faults in the IT system were to blame.
The flawed Horizon computer network was installed and run by the Japanese electronics firm Fujitsu at a cost of £1billion.
Post Office executives believe they could claw back some compensation payout cash if Fujitsu is found to be at fault in a public inquiry
Last month the Government revealed it had earmarked £933million of taxpayers’ cash to compensate the scandal’s victims. Now Post Office executives believe they could claw back some of that money if Fujitsu is found to be at fault in a public inquiry that began on Monday and is expected to last the whole year.
It is beginning with four weeks of testimony from former Post Office staff. Two Fujitsu workers are also being investigated by police and could face perjury charges over accusations of misleading trials.
Paula Vennells, who ran the Post Office between 2012 and 2019, blamed IT experts for covering up the extent of faults with the Horizon system.
She told a committee of MPs: ‘The message that the board and I were consistently given by Fujitsu, from the highest levels of the company, was that while, like any IT system, Horizon was not perfect and had a limited lifespan, it was fundamentally sound.’ Her comments came after a High Court judge found that Fujitsu’s experts knew about the IT problems in 1999 – 15 years before the prosecutions against postmasters were halted.
Discussions about potential legal action against Fujitsu arose as the chairman of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, retired judge Sir Wyn Williams, requested that Post Office bosses hand over millions of legal documents, including emails between its lawyers and bosses.
It is understood the Post Office has instructed its lawyers, Herbert Smith Freehills, to look into the potential for a claim against Fujitsu, including what its previous bosses may have known about Horizon errors. In 2020 the two parties signed an agreement to delay any legal action until after the inquiry has published its conclusions.
The flawed Horizon computer network was installed and run by the Japanese electronics firm Fujitsu at a cost of £1billion
But last night campaigners demanded that the Post Office begin action immediately. Tory peer Lord Arbuthnot said: ‘I would certainly support action against Fujitsu, with proceedings now.’
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘It may be reasonable for the Post Office to recover monies from Fujitsu. Too often, when contracts go wrong the taxpayer pays.’
The Mail has long campaigned against the betrayal of the postmasters. But Fujitsu is still a major government contractor, awarded deals worth more than £3billion in the past decade – including a £42million extension to the Horizon contract last year. Critics labelled the contracts a ‘public outrage’.
At the heart of Fujitsu’s dealings with the Post Office and Government was Michael Keegan, the husband of health minister Gillian Keegan. He became a director of Fujitsu UK in 2009, and was promoted to chief executive in 2014 and chairman in 2015. He has been unscathed by the scandal. He is now a senior adviser for the Cabinet Office, overseeing Government relationships with suppliers. Fujitsu was contacted for comment. The Post Office said: ‘The Horizon victims and the public have every right to expect Post Office to take all appropriate actions in helping ensure full accountability.’
Advertisement
