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Fujitsu boss sorry for ‘appalling’ Horizon software and promised compensation | UK News


Paul Patterson gave evidence to parliament today (Photo by PRU / AFP)

The boss of IT giant Fujitsu apologised for the ‘appalling miscarriage of justice’ to sub-postmasters due to its dodgy Horizon computer – and promised compensation.

Paul Patterson said: ‘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 the sub-postmasters and, for that, we are truly sorry.’

Mr Patterson – the Japanese firm’s European director since 2019 – insisted the Post Office also knew about the glitches.

He told MPs he was appalled to watch bombshell ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office – which caused outrage this month –and to see evidence of hundreds of wrongful prosecutions it aided.

Insisting the firm was now different, he added it had a ‘moral obligation to contribute’ to redress for victims.

His comments were the first from Fujitsu about the scandal.

ITV STUDIOS MR BATES Vs POST OFFICEPictured: AMIT SHAH as Jas,KRUPA PATTANI as Sam,LESLEY NICOL as Pam,IFAN HUW DAFYDD as Noel,JULIE HESMONDHALGH as Suzanne,TOBY JONES as Alan Bates,MONICA DOLAN as Jo,ASIF KHAN as Mohammad,WILL MELLOR as Lee and SHAUN DOOLEY as Rudkin.This photograph is (C) ITV Plc and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk.This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/termsFor further information please contact: patrick.smith@itv.com

Mr Bates vs The Post Office has outraged the public (Picture: ITV)

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Alan Bates, founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, giving evidence by video link to the Business and Trade Committee at the Houses of Parliament, London, on what more can be done to deliver compensation for victims of what has been labelled one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. Picture date: Tuesday January 16, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Horizon. Photo credit should read: House of Commons/PA Wire

Alan Bates says some victims will die waiting for compensation (Picture: PA)

Last night, its global chief Takahito Tokita also apologised, insisting: ‘This is a big issue, which Fujitsu takes very seriously.’

But campaign leader Alan Bates told MPs many victims would die waiting for money from three compensation schemes already set up because they are ‘absolutely bogged down in red tape’.

Mr Bates, 69 – who lost his post office in 2002 after refusing to accept he was responsible for money Horizon wrongly said was missing – told the business and trade committee it took 53 days for three simple questions to be answered.

‘It’s gone on for far too long,’ he said, giving evidence via video from his home in North Wales.

‘People are suffering, they’re dying, we’re losing numbers along the way and it just seems to be tied up in bureaucracy.

‘This scheme started in March 2022, that’s 22 months ago and we still have very few cases that have come out the other end. It’s frustrating to put it mildly.’

After the TV drama, prime minister Rishi Sunak promised a fast-track legal process to exonerate those convicted with£600,000 compensation each, and £75,000 up front for some.

Mr Bates was played by Toby Jones in the drama about the sub-postmasters’ 25-year fight for justice. Of 736 fraud convictions from 2000 to 2014 only 93 have been overturned.

Some victims were jailed after being bullied into admitting crimes, many were financially ruined, at least four took their own lives and dozens died before their campaign group won a civil case in 2019.

Jo Hamilton, former sub-postmistress, giving evidence to the Business and Trade Committee at the Houses of Parliament, London, on what more can be done to deliver compensation for victims of what has been labelled one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. Picture date: Tuesday January 16, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Horizon. Photo credit should read: House of Commons/PA Wire

Jo Hamilton says she was ‘gas-lit’ for three years (Picture: PA)

Dr Neil Hudgell, the solicitor who helped the group, said only three of his wrongly convicted clients had received compensation, with routine responses taking three to four months.

Wrongfully convicted Jo Hamilton, 66 – played by Monica Donlan – said of the process: ‘It’s almost like you’re a criminal all over again, you’ve got to justify everything – forensic reports for this and forensic reports for that and you put it into the machine, and months later it comes back with a query. It’s almost like you’re being retried. It’s just nonsense.’

Of her conviction, she told MPs: ‘It just makes me so angry that they’d literally gas-lit me for about three years and turned me into a basket case. They convinced me that it was all my fault and I wasn’t tech savvy at all.’

Lord Arbuthnot, seen helping the group in the drama, told MPs: ‘It’s essential for these people living hand to mouth, some still bankrupt, that money is paid as soon as possible. I hope it’s weeks, not months. It mustn’t spill into next year.’

Post Office chief Nick Read, who succeeded disgraced Paula Vennells later in 2019, admitted the scandal may eventually cost it £1 billion. The Post Office is owned by the government, with taxpayers ultimately footing the bill.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.


MORE : Tony Blair was warned about ‘flawed’ Horizon system before Post Office rollout


MORE : Postmaster serving life for wife’s murder ‘was convicted using Horizon evidence’


MORE : Man who investigated post staff over Horizon says he wasn’t ‘technically minded’



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