By Jessica Frank-Keyes
As the Post Office Horizon IT scandal continues to escalate, Fujitsu, which still runs the operating system, has recorded £22m in UK profits amid the escalating
The multinational Japanese tech firm developed the Horizon software linked to the hundreds of wrongful convictions of postal branch managers accused of stealing cash from the tills.
It came under fire following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office sparking renewed outrage in the crisis – which has seen former boss Paula Vennells today hand back her CBE.
Some victims lost jobs, homes and livelihoods. Others died without receiving compensation or clearing their names, or are even reported to have taken their own lives.
Accounts posted to Companies House this week reveal Fujitsu Services Ltd, based in the UK, scored pre-tax profits of £22m in 2022, and achieved £1.3bn in revenues, as first reported by the Guardian.
Fujitsu UK’s three directors also shared £2.3m in pay – with £1.3m the highest amount given to one boss, who remained unnamed in the accounts.
Accompanying statements said the firm – part of one of the world’s largest IT providers – had a “strong existing customer base and reputation for delivering IT services and products”.
They also highlighted a “significant new contract” with HMRC – a Brexit trader support service – which was said to have “delivered profitable revenue growth”.
The firm also renewed a contract with the Environment Agency to provide flood warning systems, taking the agreement’s total value to almost £20m.
Asked today whether the Prime Minister expected the public to trust the firm to provide emergency alerts, Sunak’s official spokesman said: “We have secured protection for around 75,000 properties through the systems and processes we have established. That’s what will matter to those affected by flooding.
“I think you’re referring to an existing contract which has been extended for a short period of time. We can’t prejudge the process and assume the facts before they are established.”
Politicians have also called for Fujitsu to contribute to compensation costs which it so far has not been asked to do. The government-owned Post Office has set £244m aside in funding.
Business minister Kevin Hollinrake told MPs on Monday: “We have been clear that it should not be the taxpayer alone who picks up the tab.”
But he insisted: “We will wait for the inquiry to report to make clear the extent of any other organisations’ culpability for the scandal and for any individual accountability.”
While peers have called for the ongoing Post Office Horizon IT inquiry to scrutinise Fujitsu’s role more closely and assess whether it was “completely unaware of the devastating effect”.
A Fujitsu UK spokesperson told City A.M: “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.
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.”
