"I'm speechless!" Government EXTENDS infamous Post Office Horizon system

Government bodies have awarded Fujitsu contracts worth more than £500 million since the drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office first aired on TV, LBC can reveal.

Ministers are being urged to wind down all of its business dealings with Fujitsu, the controversial firm behind the Post Office’s faulty Horizon IT system.

Contracts worth more than half a billion pounds have been awarded to the company since the drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office first aired on ITV on the 1st January 2024.

LBC can reveal that the 23 contracts awarded to the Japanese tech firm in that time have totalled a combined £510,704,582, according to procurement information analysed by Tussell - the public procurement platform.

Whilst the scandal dates back to the late-1990s, and had been reported by the likes of Computer Weekly and Private Eye, it was only after the BAFTA winning TV series that public anger intensified.

Lord Arbuthnot slammed the government for “continuing to treat Fujitsu as an acceptable partner”.

The Tory peer who sits on the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, told LBC “Given their behaviour over the sub postmasters, the government should not continue to do business with this company”, as he accused the government of “sending a message to business that it is ok to act in a profoundly criminal way”.

Sources within government claim that Fujitsu are vital to the operations of complex IT systems and that is why their services are still reluctantly required.

However, Lord Arbuthnot said he had “no sympathy” with that argument. He said that the government “ought to be finding a different way of working so that they don’t need to use this company which has done such damage”.

Over half of the value of contracts awarded over the last 18 months comes from two HMRC contracts which have an award value of £281,550,958 for “various IT services… as we migrate to new arrangements”.

HMRC has begun the process of breaking away from its heavy reliance on Fujitsu for IT services amid public pressure in relation to the Post Office Scandal.

There is also a year's extension to the Horizon Post Office contract included in this data. That contract is worth £63 million and is due to end in March of next year.

The Ministry of Defence’s Fujitsu contracts total over £7 million – including for the provision of 50 specialist laptops.

Meanwhile, the Home Office have also recently issued contracts with an award value of over £28 million in that time, including on “hardware provisions”.

Lord Arbuthnot, who has been widely praised for his work in helping bring justice for sub postmasters affected by the scandal, is now calling for all Fujitsu contracts to be “wound down”.

“The government should not be doing business with Fujitsu. At the moment, the government is sending a message to business that it is ok to act in a profoundly criminal way, which is what Fujitsu did. I do not think that’s acceptable”.

Among the findings it also appears that Fujitsu have beaten competitors to contracts. The figures suggest that Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance awarded a £125,000 contract to the firm despite receiving ten offers in total. The 15 year contract is as a delivery partner for its Land Registration project.

Tussell estimates that Fujitsu have received government awarded contracts in excess of £6.8 billion since 2012.

A Fujitsu spokesperson told us: “We continue to work with the UK Government to ensure we adhere to the voluntary restrictions we put in place regarding bidding for new contracts while the Post Office Inquiry is ongoing.”

On Tuesday, upon publication of Volume 1 of the Post Office Inquiry, a spokesperson added “we have apologised for, and deeply regret, our role in sub-postmasters’ suffering, and we wish to reiterate that apology today. We hope for a swift resolution that ensures a just outcome for the victims.

“We remain committed to providing our full cooperation to the Inquiry as Sir Wyn prepares his final report and we are engaged with Government regarding Fujitsu’s contribution to compensation.”

A government spokesperson said: "We have been clear that those responsible for the Horizon scandal must be held to account.

“Fujitsu has committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Inquiry concludes.

“We will not hesitate to take action, where appropriate, based on the final findings of the Inquiry.”

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