Fujitsu boss ‘truly sorry’ for role in Post Office scandal

A boss of Fujitsu has said the company has a “moral obligation” to contribute to compensation for sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted as a result of its faulty IT software.

Paul Patterson, Fujitsu’s Europe director, said the firm gave evidence to the Post Office which was used to prosecute innocent sub-postmasters.

He added the Post Office knew about “bugs and errors” in Horizon.

It comes as victims of the scandal told MPs of problems receiving compensation.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted for theft and false accounting after money appeared to be missing from their branches, but the prosecutions were based on evidence from faulty Horizon software.

Some sub-postmasters wrongfully went to prison, many were financially ruined. Some have since died.

It has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history, but to date only 93 convictions have been overturned and thousands of people are still waiting for compensation settlements more than 20 years on.

Appearing before the Business and Trade select committee of MPs, Mr Patterson apologised for Fujitsu’s role in what he said was an “appalling miscarriage of justice”.

“We were involved from the very start,” he said. “We did have bugs and errors in the system and we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of the sub-postmasters.

“For that we are truly sorry.”

Asked why Fujitsu didn’t do anything about glitches in the Horizon system when the company knew about them at an early stage, Mr Patterson said: “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

He added: “On a personal level I wish I did know. Following my appointment in 2019 I have looked back on those situations for the company and the evidence I have seen and I just don’t know.”

Earlier, Neil Hudgell, a solicitor representing 77 sub-postmasters wrongly convicted by the Post Office, told MPs that just three people had been paid full and final compensation.

He said layers of bureaucracy, along with certain requests by the Post Office, were causing problems in victims securing financial redress.

In some cases he said requests had been made for documents that were held in Post Office branches that clients had been locked out of some 15 to 20 years ago.

Jo Hamilton, who was wrongfully convicted of stealing £36,000 from the village Post Office she ran in Hampshire in 2006, said getting compensation was like being treated like a criminal all over again.

“It’s almost like you’re being retried.

“It just goes on and on and on,” she told the committee.