Post Office scandal: Horizon developer Fujitsu says it will compensate victims

Japanese technology firm Fujitsu has said it plans to compensate sub-postmasters wronged in the Horizon scandal.

The multinational is in the spotlight due to its role in the scandal – with recent ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office renewing public interest in the issue and sparking outrage over the miscarriage of justice.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were prosecuted over claims they were stealing from the Post Office – but the missing money was actually due to errors in the Horizon software.

“The Fujitsu Group regards this matter with the utmost seriousness and offers its deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“The UK statutory public inquiry, to which our UK subsidiary is providing full cooperation, is examining complex events that have unfolded over many years, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to this cooperation.

“Based on the findings of the inquiry, we will also be working with the UK government on the appropriate actions, including contribution to compensation.”

It added: “The Fujitsu Group hopes for a swift resolution that ensures a just outcome for the victims.”

Horizon was developed by Fujitsu, and the new computer accounting system was first used by the Post Office in 1999.

More than a decade later, it emerged the prosecutions were due to the faulty software, with Horizon described as “not fit for purpose” by a Post Office-commissioned report in 2014.

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Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has written to Takahito Tokita, Fujitsu’s chief executive, seeking urgent talks to thrash out a compensation package.

Earlier this week, an executive at the technology giant which developed the faulty system told MPs it had a “moral obligation” to contribute to any redress.

Fujitsu Europe director Paul Patterson apologised to victims and conceded there were “bugs and errors in the system”.

The government has set aside £1bn for Horizon victims and previously indicated it will pursue Fujitsu for the costs if the inquiry finds it is to blame.

It has also said it will introduce legislation to mass exonerate people wrongly convicted in the scandal.

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Alan Bates and other former sub-postmasters leading the campaign for justice have hit out at delays in compensation.

Mr Bates, who was at the centre of the ITV drama, told MPs financial redress for those affected was “absolutely bogged down in red tape” and that people were “dying” waiting for payments.