Victims’ relief: Fujitsu boss admits obligation for payouts
Alan Bates calls redress scheme ‘madness’ as Fujitsu chief apologises for Horizon system failures
FUJITSU has a “moral obligation” to compensate victims of the Post Office scandal, a senior executive admitted yesterday as he apologised for the firm’s role in the “appalling miscarriage of justice”.
Paul Patterson, the director of Fujitsu’s European arm, said he was “truly sorry” for the role the Japanese firm’s Horizon software played in the wrongful prosecution of more than 900 subpostmasters.
Speaking at a Commons select committee, the executive said his “gut feel” was that Fujitsu staff knew of glitches that meant shortfalls were falsely recorded in Post Office accounts five years before prosecutions were halted.
Jo Hamilton, the former sub-postmistress, appeared at the committee with Alan Bates, the titular figure of the ITV drama that reignited the scandal and prompted Rishi Sunak to announce a blanket exoneration of victims.
The showdown came days after Downing Street said that the firm should help taxpayers pay the £1 billion bill expected to cover compensation.
Last night, senior Tories told The Telegraph that Fujitsu must not be awarded any further government contracts until it has started paying compensation.
Speaking to the business and trade committee, Mr Patterson said: “To the sub-postmasters and their families, Fujitsu would like to apologise for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice.” When asked if the tech giant should be using its own money to redress victims, he responded: “I think there is a moral obligation for the company to contribute.”
Acknowledging that the firm had been “involved from the very start”, he said: “We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of sub-postmasters. For that, we are truly sorry.”
The Horizon software, which was rolled out across UK post offices in 1999, was designed to make accounting easier for the company and postmasters, but questions have been raised over how early Fujitsu staff were aware of issues.
Nigel Farage, the former Brexit Party leader, and Lord Dodds, the DUP peer, are among politicians who have called for the firm to be stripped of its £355 million contract running the Brexit border in the Irish Sea unless it pays compensation.
Last night, Dame Priti Patel, the former home secretary, said: “If Mr Patterson is serious then he will be judged on his actions and this must happen quickly. We also need to see a full review undertaken of the contracts held across the public sector by Fujitsu and serious questions must be asked as to whether they have acted with full and honest disclosure. Until this happens, they should not be awarded any further government contracts.”
Nick Read, the Post Office’s chief executive, was also questioned by MPS and blamed his firm’s failure to compensate victims efficiently on “a culture of denial”.
Ms Hamilton, who was wrongfully convicted of stealing thousands of pounds from her Hampshire branch, said she had felt like “a criminal again” while going through the burdensome compensation process. She said: “It’s almost like you’re being retried ... it just goes on and on and on.”
Lawyer Neil Hudgell, who is representing hundreds of sub-postmasters affected by the scandal, said that of his 73 clients who were wrongly convicted, only three had had their compensation “fully paid out”. He also revealed that he had received more than 200 new enquiries concerning Post Office compensation since Mr Bates vs The Post Office aired at the start of the month.
‘We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions’
THE chief executive of the Post Office presided over a “culture of denial” as the company dragged its feet over compensation payments for victims of the Horizon scandal, MPS heard yesterday.
On a day of revelations, it emerged that the Post Office faces financial liabilities of up to £1billion even as controversial IT company Fujitsu said it would contribute to compensation payouts.
Parliament’s business and trade committee heard from some of the key players in the 20-year scandal, including some of those falsely convicted of criminal offences.
Alan Bates, whose dogged campaigning over the past two decades brought the scandal to public light, said the years-long delays to payouts were “madness”. Fellow sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton told MPS that applying for compensation was like being “retried” in court.
Another 200 potential victims have come forward since ITV’S Mr Bates vs The Post Office drama was aired a fortnight ago, lawyer Neil Hudgell revealed to MPS.
While Paul Patterson, Fujitsu’s Europe boss, apologised for his company’s support for wrongful Post Office prosecutions, it was overshadowed by the news that just three sub-postmasters have received full financial redress.
Culture of denial
The Post Office dragged its feet over compensation payments for victims, MPS were told.
Challenged over why his organisation fought the provision of compensation to those who were unfairly punished for so long, Nick Read, the chief executive, said: “A culture of denial. I can only assume that that is the case.” He added: “It’s a lack of understanding and perhaps a lack of curiosity of really what is going on.”
Mr Read also appeared to concede the Post Office could ultimately face liabilities from the scandal of close to £1billion, and said he was unsure whether money paid by sub-postmasters was included in overall Post Office profits.
Mr Patterson offered a public apology for the Horizon IT system maker’s actions, saying: “We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of sub-postmasters. For that we are truly sorry.”
Liam Byrne MP, the committee chairman, said he had been “fairly shocked” by the two executives’ evidence.
“You’ve not been able to supply the committee with key events in the timeline, such as when the Post Office first knew that remote access was possible,” he said. “You’ve told us that you haven’t kept evidence safe about what money was paid to you inappropriately and, therefore, is owed back.”
Only three compensated
Just three compensation claims brought on behalf of more than 70 affected sub-postmasters have been settled so far, their lawyer told MPS.
Dr Neil Hudgell, who acts for wronged victims including Ms Hamilton, explained how many of his clients had been given financial redress by the Post Office.
“Within the convicted cohort of clients that we have, of those 73, three have been fully paid out,” he said.
“Three?” asked an incredulous Mr Byrne. “Let me just check this. Years after the key landmark [court] cases, only three of those convicted have had a full and final settlement?”
Dr Hudgell replied: “Correct ... It’s taking three to four months to get a response to routine correspondence.”
Two hundred come forward
Mr Bates vs The Post Office, ITV’S seminal drama, and intense public interest in the scandal has prompted hundreds more potential victims to come forward since it was aired in the first week of
January. Asked by Mr Byrne whether the ITV show would prompt further compensation claims, Dr Hudgell said that “up to this morning we have had in excess of 200 enquiries related to [the] Horizon Shortfall [Scheme]”, clarifying that they were new enquiries.
He continued: “We have equally had in excess of 20 enquiries that have asked us to look at settled HSS cases. My gut feel is that there are a significant number of under-settled matters.”
Mr Read confirmed the 200 figure and said: “That is good, the raising awareness is a good thing as it is bringing people forward.”
Dr Hudgell said sub-postmasters who push back against their initial offers are securing “on average at least a 25 per cent increase” in their payouts.
Mr Bates criticised the “madness” of the compensation scheme, revealing that he has been left waiting for more than two months after submitting a claim.
The former sub-postmaster said that he had been waiting for 66 days so far to hear from the Horizon Shortfall Scheme.
“It’s madness – the whole thing is madness and there’s no transparency, that’s the frustrating thing,” he told MPS. “Today it will be the 66th working day, allowing for Christmas and New Year, but I’m still waiting for my first offer. And I’m being told that I won’t receive anything or a first offer until the end of this month.
“We do not know what is happening to these cases once they are submitted.”
Ms Hamilton, who testified to MPS alongside Mr Bates, said trying to claim compensation from the Post Office was like being put on trial all over again.
“It’s almost like you’re being retried, because everything you say, they say, ‘Oh, justify that and justify that.’ And it just goes on and on and on,” she said.
“They have to literally drill into the minute details of everything they think you might be claiming, you know, it’s almost like you’re a criminal all over again.”