Japan’s Fujitsu got billions from UK government despite Post Office scandal
- The Japanese company supplied post offices with software that contained bugs, leading to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of local managers
- Yet it was still awarded more than US$1.7 billion in government contracts, even after a 2019 court ruling had associated the company with the scandal
Fujitsu Ltd. has held more than £3.4 billion (US$4.3 billion) of active contracts with parts of the British state including the Bank of England since 2019, despite its role in the UK’s Post Office scandal.
A parliamentary committee said £1.4 billion of those contracts were awarded after a 2019 court ruling that associated Fujitsu with the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of local branch managers for theft and fraud. The Japanese technology company supplied post offices with its Horizon software, which contained bugs.
The contracts included £2.8 billion of deals with HM Revenue & Customs, agreements worth £629.3 million with the Financial Conduct Authority and a £417,586 commitment with the Bank of England, according to data from the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee.
Members of Parliament on the committee sourced the figures from public bodies specifically affiliated with the Treasury, as part of a wider examination of the scandal.
Several of the contracts are still active, including £1.4 billion with HMRC and £9 million with the FCA. They were for services including resale of “threat and vulnerability management software” at the FCA and the BOE, and support for traders submitting customs declarations at HMRC.
The BOE said it no longer holds any active contracts with Fujitsu, while the FCA said it had considered ending a contract due to poor performance but in the end decided to carry on.
“I hope this will aid transparency and scrutiny around the role of Fujitsu as a public sector supplier,” said chair of the Treasury Committee Harriett Baldwin.