Fujitsu has been awarded £6.8bn in public sector contracts since 2012 – including an extension last year to the Horizon deal.
The Japanese multinational is in the spotlight due to its role in the Horizon scandal – with recent ITV drama Mr Bates VS The Post Office renewing public interest in the issue and sparking outrage over the miscarriage of justice.
Politicians have been forced to act as a result – with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing on Wednesday a new law will be introduced so people wrongly convicted in the scandal are “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.
Hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were prosecuted over claims they were stealing from the Post Office – but the missing money was actually due to errors in the Horizon software.
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Horizon was developed by Fujitsu, and the new computer accounting system was first used by the Post Office in 1999.
More than a decade later, it emerged the prosecutions were due to the faulty software, with Horizon described as “not fit for purpose” by a Post Office-commissioned report in 2014.
But despite this, Fujitsu has been handed billions of pounds of public money.
Research by analysts Tussell found Fujitsu has won £6.8bn of contracts with the public sector since 2012.
This includes an extension to the original 1999 Horizon contract, running until at least 2025.
This extension – awarded last year – is worth £36m.
According to information on the government website, this was awarded as plans to move data onto new cloud servers were found to be unworkable.
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the Financial Conduct Authority, and Ministry of Defence are all among those who have handed contracts to Fujitsu.
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The list of departments and the amount they awarded according to Tussell include:
• £2.8bn by the Post Office;
• £1bn by HMRC;
• £581m by the MoD;
• £557m by the FCA;
• £534m by the Education Authority of Northern Ireland;
• £477m by the Home Office;
• £124m by the Department of Work and Pensions.
Another £578m in total was handed out by other public bodies to Fujitsu.
In total, they received 197 contracts, according to Tussell.
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A Post Office spokesperson said: “It has been our long-stated intent to replace Horizon with a new cloud-based system. We’ve been testing basic mails transactions live on this new system in two pilot branches.
“Next, we are adding and testing more mails and back-office functionality. After evaluation, this will be the version that we plan to install in pilot branches later in 2024.
“Around 300 serving postmasters are helping make sure the system is fit for the future with an effective and efficient roll-out across the network.”
With regards to the procurement, they added: “We have an overall contract for all Horizon services until 31 March 2025. The recent procurement notice worth £36 million with Fujitsu was a modification to our overall agreement with the company and not a new contract.
“This modification was to extend support for two Data Centres by one year until the end of March 2025. This brings the support in line with the end date for the overall contract.”
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A Fujitsu spokesperson said: “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.”
