Fujitsu approved for ‘top secret’ security work

THE company at the centre of the Horizon scandal was approved for new contracts to handle top secret military documents, spyware and warship technology only five months ago,

can reveal.

Fujitsu, the scandal-hit Japanese tech giant, was one of 15 firms approved in October to handle “information assets that directly support or inform the national security of the UK”, giving it access to government contracts worth millions of pounds.

The decision came during a public inquiry into the company’s failings and only three weeks after ministers said that wrongfully convicted postmasters had “suffered significant financial losses and an overwhelming impact on their lives” because of its Horizon software.

MPs said the “revelatory” discovery of the contract should be examined by Parliament, amid concerns that millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is still being awarded to the firm.

The company has said it will not seek new government contracts during the Post Office inquiry, which is examining the conviction of more than 700 people because of issues with its system. But, Alex Burghart, a Cabinet Office minister, has said that the Government will still award Fujitsu contracts if the work involves “specialist skills we require”.

The company has already been placed on the approved list for new national security contracts, which allows it to work on a range of new highly classified government projects marked as “secret or top secret”.

Despite Fujitsu’s decision not to apply for new contracts, the Government’s approval of the company in a framework agreement means it can still be handed future work.

The agreement in October authorises Fujitsu to provide technology for the nation’s intelligence agencies and armed forces, including computers, mobile phones, CCTV cameras, radios and video-conferencing equipment.

The “top secret” classification is given only to information that, if compromised, “could cause exceptionally grave damage” including the “widespread loss of life” or a major threat to national security.