Fujitsu admits responsibility for #PostOfficeScandal and offers to compensate
The head of Fujitsu, the multinational corporation whose rubbish Horizon software caused the so-called Post Office Scandal that was dramatised as Mr Bates vs The Post Office, has admitted the company’s fault.
He did so at a hearing of the House of Commons’ Business Committee, before Alan Bates, the former sub-postmaster whose efforts to obtain justice were depicted in the TV drama.
Here’s what happened, according to ITV’s Paul Brand:
Patterson admits there is a “moral” obligation for Fujitsu to contribute to the compensation for subpostmasters.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) January 16, 2024
Nick Read, new head of Post Office, says it’s “possible” that money wrongly snatched from subpostmasters was absorbed into the overall pot that then paid giant salaries and bonuses to the likes of Paula Vennells. Their lives impoverished to potentially enrich executives.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) January 16, 2024
Fujitsu’s Paul Patterson says for the third time that they will contribute to the compensation fund, though he won’t say how much.
He suggests Fujitsu will continue bidding for government contracts.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) January 16, 2024
So not only did Fujitsu know the Horizon software was faulty; it definitely also had remote access to individual sub-postmasters’ accounts, meaning they could be altered remotely.
Ah, but Fujitsu told Post Office Limited about these things so it was POL’s responsibility to act on that information. That’s debatable – as the software provider, Fujitsu was responsible for providing a working product. If that didn’t happen, wouldn’t Fujitsu be responsible for putting it right?
Fujitsu will definitely provide compensation money, though – but nobody there is saying how much that will be.
As the Post Office has admitted the money wrongly taken from sub-postmasters was probably absorbed into the firm’s profits and used to pay huge bonuses to people like former CEO Paula Vennells, it seems Fujitsu won’t be the only corporation pay back large amounts of money.
These are all, as Mr Brand states, extraordinary admissions.
With culpability and the need for compensation agreed by all sides, a timetable needs to be drawn up for the provision of that money – and that’s where This Writer foresees difficulty.
I reckon they’re all going to argue about how much responsibility they should each take. Such arguments could last years. Who thinks I’m right?
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