Campaigner slams 'dreadful' government decision to continue using Horizon firm Fujitsu despite Post Office scandal

Contracts worth more than half a billion pounds have been awarded to the company since the beginning of 2024.

LBC revealed that the 23 contracts awarded to the Japanese tech firm in that time have totalled a combined £510,704,582, according to procurement information analysed by Tussell - the public procurement platform.

Campaigner Jo Hamilton, a former sub-postmistress who was falsely prosecuted for a shortfall in accounts of £36,000 in 2006, called the decision "dreadful".

She told LBC's Nick Ferrari: "I'm not very often speechless but honestly it's like the government are endorsing what (Fujitsu has) done to keep using them.

"Why can't they say 'if you want to renew your contract, you've got to pay up', because they should be contributing to this scandal."

Ms Hamilton added: "(The other campaigners) will be just as angry as I am."

The comments come after Defence Secretary John Healey told LBC the government will continue using the disgraced company where they offer the best service.

Read more: Government urges Fujitsu to pay compensation to victims of Post Office scandal

Read more: Compensation process for Post Office scandal victims could go on for years, lawyers say

Mr Healey defended the decision to continue considering Fujitsu for government contracts saying: "Defence contracts are based on our assessment of what Fujitsu can provide for defence, for our forces, and we make sure what they can provide at taxpayers' expense is good value for money and where it is, we will continue to consider using them."

Nick asked why Horizon is chosen over other supplies, to which Mr Healey said "they are the supplier that is best able to meet the terms of the contract".

He added: "I've dealt as a local MP with the post masters and mistresses affected by this scandal. They want justice and proper compensation, we're determined to get that."

Fujitsu has been urged by the government to make interim compensation payouts to victims of the Post Office scandal.

The call came as critics pointed out the Japanese tech giant had “paid not one penny” for the “havoc and misery that it helped to cause”.

They also argued the under-fire company “should be nowhere near” new government contracts as it emerged it continued to secure lucrative multimillion-pound deals with Whitehall, bankrolled by the taxpayer.

The company has already acknowledged it has a “moral obligation” to contribute to compensation, pending the outcome of the public inquiry led by Sir Wyn Williams.

The firm has come under renewed pressure after the publication of the first part of Sir Wyn’s final report.

It found around 1,000 people were wrongly prosecuted and convicted after Fujitsu’s defective Horizon accounting system made it appear as though money was missing at their Post Office branches.

Some victims were sent to prison or financially ruined, others were shunned by their communities, and some took their own lives.

The long-running battle for justice accelerated dramatically after ITV broadcast the drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which highlighted the scandal.