At least 13 people have died by suicide and 59 contemplated it due to the UK's Post Office scandal, where nearly 1,000 postal workers were wrongly convicted based on faulty Horizon computer system data, leading to significant personal and financial harm. The scandal, which persisted from 1999 to 2015, was only fully exposed recently, prompting government action to reverse convictions and compensate victims.
The boss of Fujitsu's European arm, Paul Patterson, admitted to letting down society and sub-postmasters for the company's role in the Post Office scandal involving faulty Horizon software. Fujitsu has apologized and expressed willingness to engage with the government on compensation for affected sub-postmasters. The scandal led to wrongful convictions and a new law to exonerate victims. The statutory inquiry aims to provide a public summary of the failings with the Horizon IT system at the Post Office.
Fujitsu has informed the UK government that it will not bid for public contracts while the inquiry into the Post Office scandal, involving its faulty Horizon software, is ongoing. This decision comes after more than 900 sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly prosecuted due to the software's errors. The government has continued to award contracts to Fujitsu despite the scandal, but the company has voluntarily stepped back from bidding for future contracts. Fujitsu's European boss apologized for the firm's role in the scandal and stated that the company has a "moral obligation" to contribute to compensation for those affected.
A hit TV series has reignited public outrage over the Post Office scandal, where faulty software led to false convictions of theft and fraud for hundreds of sub-postmasters. The High Court ruled in 2019 that the Horizon software was at fault, leading to a public inquiry. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced new legislation to swiftly exonerate and compensate the victims, while former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells returned her CBE award. The ongoing public inquiry may place blame on the Japanese IT firm Fujitsu, and dozens of victims have shared their stories, calling for mass exonerations and compensation.
A scandal involving faulty computer software led to the false imprisonment and ruined lives of hundreds of British postal workers, with the recent TV drama reigniting public fury. The Horizon software wrongly indicated theft and false accounting by post office managers, leading to prosecutions and convictions. The government is under pressure to expedite the review of convictions, with calls for legislation to quash all convictions of affected postal workers. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to ensure that the workers receive the redress they deserve, acknowledging the appalling miscarriage of justice.
