Sunak urged to suspend Fujitsu contracts over Post Office IT scandal

Sign up for the View from Westminster electronic mail for skilled evaluation straight to your inbox

Get our free View from Westminster electronic mail

Rishi Sunak is dealing with calls to suspend new public contracts with Fujitsu, after it emerged that the IT large has gained billions in offers with the federal government regardless of realizing about its involvement within the Horizon scandal.

Postal minister Kevin Hollinrake mentioned the federal government believes it has a “solution” to overturn the wrongful convictions of Post Office workers – promising an “imminent” announcement.

It comes because the highlight activates the corporate on the centre of the scandal, after Fujitsu’s defective accounting software program Horizon helped lead to the conviction of greater than 700 Post Office department managers.

Former Tory cupboard minister Nadhim Zahawi mentioned Fujitsu ought to now not get “VIP” remedy for contracts, amid rising questions on why the federal government has not severed ties with the agency.

And senior Labour and Lib Dem MPs have known as for a “moratorium” on all new contracts with Fujitsu till the corporate is held accountable for its function within the scandal.

Since 2012, the general public sector as an entire has awarded the corporate virtually 200 contracts price a mixed whole of £6.8bn, in accordance to analysts Tussell.

And Fujitsu has gained £4.9bn in public-sector offers since a 2019 courtroom ruling which discovered its Horizon system was badly flawed, in accordance to the Financial Times.

Around 43 contracts are nonetheless in operation – price a complete of £3.6bn – together with the contract for the Post Office Horizon system and the federal government’s flood warning system.

Fujitsu was given contracts by “VIP” precedence lanes, the so-called “framework agreements”, which assist authorities signal offers with most popular suppliers, the i reported.

Mr Zahawi mentioned that the corporate ought to be suspended from any precedence lanes. “Fujitsu has not been properly held to account for this major scandal. They need to bear their part of the responsibility for this debacle,” he instructed the newspaper.

Senior Labour MP Liam Byrne, chair of the enterprise choose committee, mentioned ministers “must not reward failure any further”. He added: “It’s vital there’s now a moratorium on new contracts for Fujitsu until we’ve got to the bottom of this terrible miscarriage of justice.”

Bosses at Fujitsu have been known as to reply questions from the enterprise committee subsequent week – however haven’t but mentioned whether or not they may attend. Mr Byrne mentioned it was “vital that Fujitsu confess how they got it so wrong”.

Labour MP Kevan Jones, a number one campaigner on the difficulty, mentioned Fujitsu shouldn’t be allowed to win new contracts till it correctly defined “its role and responsibilities” within the scandal.

Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrats’ spokesperson for the Treasury, mentioned suspending contracts till the tip of the general public inquiry was the “very least” the federal government might do.

It could be very tough for the federal government to finish its involvement with Fujistu. The firm gives IT providers to a number of authorities departments together with the Home Office, the Foreign Office, Defra and the Ministry of Defence.

These providers embody offering the Police National Computer – which shops people’ legal information – and the federal government’s flood warning system, in addition to the nationwide emergency alerts system launched in March 2023.

Fujitsu does vital work with HMRC, with contracts price greater than £1bn together with a deal awarded in February 2022.

No 10 mentioned on Tuesday that Fujitsu could be “held accountable”, legally or financially, if the general public inquiry finds that the corporate blundered within the Horizon scandal.

But the PM’s spokesperson didn’t say the federal government would cease awarding contracts to the corporate if it was discovered to be at fault – saying solely that the conduct of firms “in general” could be thought of as a part of the procurement course of.

Meanwhile, Mr Hollinrake instructed Sky News on Wednesday that “we’re very, very close” to an announcement on overturning Horizon convictions – saying the federal government had arrived at an answer.

It comes after justice secretary Alex Chalk on Tuesday mentioned “active consideration” was being given to bringing ahead laws geared toward overturning a minimum of 700 convictions en masse.

The unbiased Horizon Compensation Advisory Board will even meet later. The advisory board, whose members embody long-time campaigners Kevan Jones and Tory peer Lord Arbuthnot, have known as for Post Office convictions to be “overturned”.

Mr Hollinrake might be part of the lunchtime assembly – with attendees seemingly anticipating an replace on any plans to quash convictions and efforts to speed up compensation funds.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) would usually have a look at the person convictions and doubtlessly ship them to the Court of Appeal. But the unprecedented scale of the Horizon scandal might require the extraordinary step of blanket laws.

A Fujitsu spokesman mentioned: “The current Post Office Horizon IT statutory inquiry is examining complex events stretching back over 20 years to understand who knew what, when, and what they did with that knowledge.

“The inquiry has reinforced the devastating impact on postmasters’ lives and that of their families, and Fujitsu has apologised for its role in their suffering.”

They added: “Fujitsu is fully committed to supporting the inquiry in order to understand what happened and to learn from it. Out of respect for the inquiry process, it would be inappropriate for Fujitsu to comment further at this time.”