UK Post Office Horizon scandal: What is the Post Office scandal? What happens next? Who owns Fujitsu?

Post Office Horizon: What is the IT scandal all about?

Rishi Sunak has announced hundreds of Post Office branch managers who were wrongly convicted in the Horizon IT scandal could have their names cleared by the end of the year.

Blanket legislation to exonerate subpostmasters convicted in England and Wales will be introduced within weeks, with the Prime Minister labelling the cases as “one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history”.But what was the Post Office Horizon scandal, and what happens now?

The Horizon IT scandal

Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office prosecuted operators of sub-post offices across the UK, accusing them of theft, fraud and false accounting.

The information came from the Horizon IT system installed in the 1990s, which bosses knew were faulty from at least 2010.

More than 900 people were prosecuted by the Post Office, with 3,500 accused, despite clear issues with the software and protestations of innocence.

What happened to those prosecuted?

Hundreds of subpostmasters were convicted of swindling money on the basis of evidence from the flawed Horizon accounting system, with MPs told the Post Office showed “not only incompetence but malevolence” in the way it acted against them.

This left them struggling financially, bankrupt, and sentences ranging from community service to jail time. Victims and their families got sick and struggled with mental health problems, and the scandal is linked to at least four suicides.

In 2019, a group of post office operators won a high court case in which their convictions were ruled wrongful and the Horizon IT system was ruled to be at fault. In 2021, the ruling was upheld on appeal, quashing the convictions of some workers who were wrongly accused of committing crimes, paving the way for compensation.

How did the Post Office respond?

Despite the court ruling and clear evidence, the Post Office has still opposed a number of appeals by operators. Boasting the power to investigate and prosecute without the need for police involvement, the company continued to deny wrongdoing.

What justice has there been?

In short, very little. As of last month, 142 appeal case reviews had been completed out of 900 people convicted. 93 convictions were overturned and 54 upheld, withdrawn or denied permission to appeal.

While £24 million has been paid out in relation to overturned convictions, the Post Office has been accused of delaying its payments. Dozens of victims died before getting compensation.

Why is this happening now?

An independent public inquiry established in September 2020 has produced further evidence, and is expected to be completed this year.

ITV has also been praised by campaigners, who broadcast a drama called Mr Bates v the Post Office last week, telling the story of Alan Bates leading the fight for justice for him and his fellow sub-post office operators.

Who is under pressure?

Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has said she will return her CBE.

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, is also facing calls to resign having refused to meet Mr Bates during his time as postal affairs minister between 2010 and 2012, when the software issues started coming to light. Sir Ed has said he regretted not doing more at the time.

The role of investigator Stephen Bradshaw, who gave evidence to the Post Office inquiry in central London on Thursday, has also come under intense scrutiny. Mr Bradshaw denied acting in any way, but professionally throughout the probes he conducted.

Japanese technology giant Fujitsu supplied the Horizon software to the Post Office that produced apparent evidence that hundreds of sub-postmasters had been extracting money from their branches - when in fact it was a computer error.

Paul Patterson, head of Europe at Fujitsu, is due to appear before the UK Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday to give evidence on his company's role in the scandal.

Pressure on Fujitsu has mounted in recent days, with justice secretary Alex Chalk suggesting the firm should repay the “fortune” spent on the scandal if it is found culpable.

What happens next?

Hundreds of Post Office branch managers who were wrongly convicted could now have their names cleared by the end of the year.

Blanket legislation to exonerate subpostmasters convicted in England and Wales will be introduced within weeks, and Scotland is expected to follow suit.

Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a £600,000 compensation payment, or potentially more if they go through a process of having their claim individually assessed.

Who owns Fujitsu?

Fujitsu has been awarded UK Government contracts worth billions in recent years and its continued involvement in major IT schemes has raised concerns at Westminster.

The Japanese company is listed on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges. The multinational was established in 1935 and has its headquarters in Tokyo. It was the world's sixth largest IT services provider by annual revenue, which in the last financial year was 324.6bnY (£1.75bn).

Takahito Tokita, who joined the firm in 1988, is its chief executive.

The company is part of the Furukawa Group, which includes Furukawa Electric Co Ltd, Fuji Electric Co Ltd, Fujitsu Ltd, The Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd and the Mizuho Financial Group.

The Furukawa Company was founded in 1875 as a copper mine developer and is now one of the largest industrial groups in Japan.