Fujitsu won’t bid for UK public contracts during Post Office inquiry

FUJITSU has promised it won’t bid for more UK government contracts until the outcome of a public inquiry into the Post Office scandal, in which hundreds of people were wrongly convicted for theft or false accounting after using the technology company’s Horizon software.

Alex Burghart, a Cabinet Office minister, said on Thursday (Jan 18) that Fujitsu had written to the government “voluntarily undertaking not to bid for government contracts whilst the inquiry is ongoing, unless of course the government ask them to.” 

Burghart, who was updating Members of Parliament in the UK’s House of Commons, said Fujitsu will continue to work on its existing contracts and can only bid for new work if it has “specialist skills we require and in consultation with the customer.”

Fujitsu still provides the Post Office with Horizon software, previous versions of which contained glitches leading to shortfalls in local branches’ accounts. Hundreds of branch managers, known as sub-postmasters, were blamed and prosecuted for the shortfalls between 1999 and 2015. The UK government has now pledged to overturn the convictions after public outrage was fanned by a recent television drama that attracted more than 10 million viewers.

Victims of the injustice are also due hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation. Fujitsu’s European head said on Tuesday that the Japanese company had a “moral obligation” to contribute to the payouts.

A spokesperson for Fujitsu said on Thursday that it remains steadfast in its cooperation with the public inquiry and “hopes for a swift resolution that ensures a just outcome for the victims.” The inquiry is due to report its findings this year.

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The UK makes up about 5 per cent of Fujitsu’s sales. The company’s shares have fallen nearly 10 per cent since the start of the year. BLOOMBERG