Fujitsu, the maker of the software behind the wrong conviction of hundreds of sub post masters in Britain's biggest miscarriage of justice, has been asked to make an "interim payment of at least £300 million" to cover the compensation paid to Post Office Horizon scandal.
Labour peer Lord Beamish called on a debate in House of Lords on Thursday (27) on the progress of the Post Office Horizon compensation scheme and of the contribution of Fujitsu to the compensation of victims.
Stating that Fujitsu not only covered up the fact that Horizon system was full of bugs and could be remotely accessed but also took an active part in the prosecution of sub-postmasters, Lord Beamish slammed the Japanese firm for "hiding behind the public inquiry".
"At the public inquiry and the Commons Select Committee, Mr Patterson (Paul Patterson, the director of Fujitsu in the UK) said that he apologised to the sub-postmasters and that Fujitsu would make a contribution to compensate victims.
"As of today, no money has been paid by Fujitsu to victims and this is a company that is still making multimillion-pound profits from government contracts.
"It said that it was not going to bid for new contracts, but what it is doing is extending existing contracts. That is happening at the same time as the taxpayer is paying out nearly £600 million in compensation to victims, and many victims are still waiting for compensation."
Apart from calling on Fujitsu to cough out £300 million as interim payment, Lord Beamish also demanded that the Government should bar Fujitsu from taking part in any future contracts if major change has not taken place.
Conservative peer Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom supported the proposal, noting that while Fujitsu had acknowledged its "moral obligation," it was ultimately the taxpayer who was bearing the financial burden, amounting to hundreds of millions.
He said, "The noble Lord, Lord Beamish, suggested £300 million; £700 million would be less than half the cost that the taxpayer is currently estimated to bear.
"If it does not do that, why should the Government offer it further extensions of its existing contracts, still less grant it new contracts?"
Labour peer Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay also expressed her support for the proposal, asserting that it was time for Fujitsu to take responsibility and contribute to the compensation fund.She urged all parties involved to act as swiftly as possible to ensure that all victims of the scandal received the payments they rightfully deserved.Conservative peer Lord Polak emphasized the need for the Government to provide clear and transparent communication to claimants about the claims process, ensuring they understood what to expect and the timeframe involved. He agreed with Lord Beamish’s suggestion of a £300 million contribution from Fujitsu but argued that the company should match the amount already covered by the taxpayer, acknowledging that while it was a significant sum, it was a necessary obligation.Parliament was told that if the Japanese tech giant was an individual it would be facing years if not decades in jail for its active part in the Horizon IT scandal which saw sub postmasters “maliciously prosecuted”.
The firm continued to enjoy lucrative extensions to government contracts bankrolled by the public while the taxpayer funded payouts to victims of what is believed to be Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice, Westminster heard.
Hundreds of sub postmasters were wrongly convicted of stealing after Fujitsu’s defective Horizon accounting system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
The Post Office also forced at least 4,000 branch managers to pay back cash based on the flawed data. Some victims were sent to prison or financially ruined, others were shunned by their communities, and some took their own lives.
