IT giant Fujitsu should repay the “fortune” spent on the Post Office scandal if it is found culpable, justice secretary Alex Chalk has said.
No 10 said on Thursday that Rishi Sunak’s government “fully intends” to make Fujitsu foot the bill for the scandal if the IT giant behind the faulty Horizon software is found culpable.
And Mr Chalk said the government will want to “secure proper recompense on behalf of the taxpayer” if the public inquiry delivers a damning verdict on the firm.
It comes as a Post Office investigator described as having a “heavy footprint” is due to give evidence for the inquiry’s first hearing of the year on Thursday.
Mr Sunak announced that hundreds of subpostmasters in England and Wales would have their names cleared by the end of the year under blanket legislation to be introduced within weeks.
And Mr Chalk suggested that Fujitsu will have to foot a large part of the compensation bill if the inquiry finds the “scale of the incompetence is as we might imagine”.
The prime minister is facing calls to go further and bar Fujitsu from securing government contracts and pursue the firm for payments.
Mr Chalk said the government would wait for the conclusions of the inquiry, chaired by retired judge Sir Wyn Williams, before it decides what action to take against the company.
Justice secretary Alex Chalk has offered warning to Fujitsu
“But bluntly, if the scale of the incompetence is as we might imagine, then I simply would want to secure proper recompense on behalf of the taxpayer,” the cabinet minister told ITV’s Peston.
“It’s absolutely right that there should be justice across the piece – yes for the subpostmasters which we’re talking about today – but frankly also for the taxpayer. This has cost and will cost a fortune.”
If Fujitsu is found to be at fault, it “should face the consequences”, Mr Chalk added, in a sign ministers could launch legal action against the Japanese company.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake also told BBC Newsnight that it would be “only right” for Fujitsu to contribute to compensation bill if the inquiry finds it bears a lot of the responsibility for the scandal.
Mr Sunak’s spokesman said on Thursday that the government did not want to “cut across” the public inquiry, but added: “We fully intend, should culpability be found with individuals or businesses, to hold them to account.”
Hundreds of Post Office branch managers were convicted of swindling money on the basis of evidence from the tech giant’s flawed Horizon accounting system.
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.
There will also be a new upfront payment of £75,000 to those not convicted by affected by the scandal – including those who lost money by paying the sums allegedly stolen out of their own pocket.
Ministers are setting aside up to £1bn for compensation. Mr Hollinrake explained in the Commons that the victims would be eligible for compensation simply by signing a declaration that they hadn’t committed any crime.
Alan Bates – the former subpostmaster on whom the recent ITV series centre – said it was “about time” for the move to exonerate Post Office staff – but warned that “the devil is in the detail” when it comes to the government’s legislation.
Toby Jones played former subpostmaster Alan Bates in the ITV drama
But asked if he would be celebrating the victory, the 69-year-old told The Times “you must be joking” as he and many others are yet to receive final compensation.
Mr Bates told The Mirror: “£75,000 is an alternative to having your case independently assessed, so for the smaller cases, it will probably suffice. But for many cases, it is not enough.”
It emerged that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecuted three Post Office cases while Sir Keir Starmer was in charge. The Labour leader told reporters: “I wasn’t aware of any of them.”
Ministers have acknowledged the radical plan of a law to enforce mass exoneration could result in some subpostmasters who did commit crimes being wrongly cleared – but insisted the process was the most effective way of dealing with the vast majority who were victims.
Lord Ken MacDonald, the former director of Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said it amounted to “parliament seizing from the courts and from the judges … I hope it doesn’t come back to bite us.”
Fujitsu’s continued involvement in major IT schemes has raised concerns. Ministers tried to prevent the firm getting more official work but this proved “impossible” despite its “woeful” performance, a Tory peer revealed on Wednesday.
Lord Maude, who served as Cabinet Office minister under David Cameron, said procurement rules thwarted ministers’ efforts. He said if Fujitsu had “any sense of honour” it would swiftly make a significant payment towards the compensation packages.
The public inquiry, whose first hearing of the year on Thursday will feature Post Office investigator Stephen Bradshaw, is set to keep the scandal in the headlines.
Mr Bradshaw has been described as having a “heavy footprint” in the scandal after being involved in the criminal investigation of nine subpostmasters.
