Post Office scandal: Fujitsu agrees to talks about contributing to victims' compensation
Fujitsu has agreed to begin talks with the UK government on contributing to compensation for victims of the Post Office scandal.
Hundreds of sub-postmasters were falsely accused of stealing from their branches between 1999 and 2015.
Fujitsu developed the faulty Horizon computer system responsible for erroneous shortfalls in accounting which led to wrongful convictions. They also supported the Post Office in its prosecutions.
More than a year ago, Fujitsu boss Paul Patterson said the company had a "moral obligation" to contribute towards redress for victims.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Mr Patterson today held a "positive and constructive" meeting in Japan - where Fujitsu agreed to begin talks on compensation.
The UK government "welcomes Fujitsu's repeated commitment to its moral obligation to contribute" towards compensation for the Horizon scandal victims, a joint statement said.
Ahead of the completion of the inquiry into the scandal, the pair "agreed to progress discussions regarding Fujitsu's contribution, acknowledging many parties are involved," it added.
Officials will "continue to engage with Fujitsu", but the UK government will not be making a "running commentary" on discussions, the statement said.
It also said the government is "grateful" for Fujitsu's engagement with the Post Office inquiry "and its continued focus on delivering its public services commitments in the UK".
'Utter disgrace'
It comes as the widow of a Post Office scandal victim, who received a compensation offer days after his death, described her situation as an "utter disgrace".
Janet Walters, 68, lost her husband Terry in February - a week before a letter arrived offering "less than half" of his original claim for financial redress.
3:43
Terry Walters was one of 555 sub-postmasters who won a legal battle against the Post Office in 2019.
Janet described the length of time many victims have had to wait for an offer of compensation as another "scandal".
"I've told them I will not accept [the offer]," Janet told Sky News. "I think it's an utter disgrace.
"It's a scandal what they did with the Horizon system, it's a scandal now because of the length of time it's taken [on redress]."
Thousands waiting for compensation
New figures show more than £768m has been now paid to more than 5,100 victims across all redress schemes.
The Department for Business and Trade said this was a "more than tripling" of the total amount of redress paid since June 2024.
There are, however, still hundreds waiting for compensation in the GLO (Group Litigation Order) scheme, with more than 200 yet to receive full redress.
There are also more than 4,000 yet to be paid in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), although since last month, over 700 have received compensation.
3:31
In a separate statement after the meeting in Japan, Mr Reynolds said: "We must never forget the lives ruined by the Horizon scandal and no amount of redress can take away that pain. But justice can and must be done.
"This government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to make rapid progress on compensation and redress.
"Since we took office, we have more than tripled the total amount of redress paid to victims, and today we took another significant step towards justice."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
4 hours ago
- Sky News
UK military could 'potentially' be used to defend Israel, chancellor tells Sky News
The chancellor has told Sky News that UK military assets could "potentially" be used to help defend Israel, and the government is "not ruling anything out". Rachel Reeves said that while the UK is calling for de-escalation in the region, it is also sending military assets, including fighter jets, "to protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies". The chancellor went further than the prime minister last night, who confirmed the movement of military assets, but refused to say if they could be used to help Israel. She also warned about rising oil prices and disruption to key trade routes in the Middle East, which could see inflation in Britain. Speaking to Sky's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the chancellor said sending military assets to the Middle East "does not mean that we are at war", and emphasised that "we have not been involved in these strikes or this conflict". "But we do have important assets in the region," she continued. "And it is right that we send jets to protect them. And that's what we've done. It's a precautionary move, and at the same time, we are urging de-escalation." 0:30 Asked what the UK government would do if the Israelis requested the deployment of assets to support their operations, Ms Reeves reiterated that there has been no UK involvement so far and would not get in to "operational decisions for the future". She said: "This is a fast moving situation. Israel has every right to defend itself. We also are very concerned about Iran's nuclear deterrent." She continued: "We have, in the past, supported Israel when there had been missiles coming in. I'm not going to comment on what might happen in the future. But so far we haven't been involved. We're sending in assets to protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies." Pushed on the question of what the UK would do if Israel asked for support with its operations, the chancellor replied: "I'm not going to rule anything out at this stage. It's a fast moving situation, a very volatile situation. But we don't want to see escalation." Asked if the UK would support a change of regime in Tehran, she replied: "I've got no time for the Iranian regime for the suppression and repression of their own people, and we have serious concerns, which we've expressed on a number of occasions, about the Iranian nuclear programme. "But we want to see de-escalation at the moment. We are not trying to ramp up the rhetoric." Ms Reeves also warned of the consequences of the conflict in the UK, saying that oil and gas prices "have gone up by just over 10%" since the conflict started, and warning there is a risk that key trade routes through the Middle East could be disrupted.
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
UK will 'potentially' support Israel in Iran conflict, says Rachel Reeves
Israel has unleashed air strikes across Iran for a third day and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear programme, which could provide an off-ramp, were called off. The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites on Friday killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. READ MORE: Why did Israel attack Iran and have they again broken international law? Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that if the Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then 'our responses will also stop'. Reeves told Sky News that she was 'not going to rule anything out at this stage' given the 'fast-moving situation'. Asked whether the UK would come to Israel's aid if asked, the Chancellor told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: 'We have, in the past, supported Israel when there have been missiles coming in. 'I'm not going to comment on what might happen in the future, but so far, we haven't been involved, and we're sending in assets to both protect ourselves and also potentially to support our allies.' Pushed again on whether the UK would deploy assets in support of Israel if asked, she said: 'What we've done in the past (…) is help protect Israel from incoming strikes. So a defensive activity.' She added: 'I'm not going to rule anything out at this stage (…) it's a fast moving situation, a very volatile situation. 'But we don't want to see escalation, we want to see de-escalation.' Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signalling what could be a further widening of the campaign. READ MORE: Ian Murray 'does not understand how devolution works', SNP minister says US president Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can only avoid further destruction by agreeing to a new nuclear deal. New explosions echoed across Tehran and were reported elsewhere in the country early on Sunday, but there was no update to a death toll put out the day before by Iran's UN ambassador, who said 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded. In Israel, at least 10 people were killed in Iranian strikes overnight and into Sunday, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service, bringing the country's total death toll to 13.
South Wales Argus
13 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Canada is independent and sovereign, says Starmer ahead of visit
In an apparent challenge to the US President, the Prime Minister said the country was a 'much-valued member of the Commonwealth'. Sir Keir indicated the UK and Canada will seek to restart trade talks on his way to meet Mark Carney, the country's premier and former Bank of England governor, in the Canadian capital on Saturday. The visit will be the first by a British premier to the country in eight years and comes ahead of leaders from the world's major economies meeting for the G7 summit in Kananaskis next week. The Prime Minister will be walking a diplomatic tightrope between strengthening bilateral relations with Canada and keeping Mr Trump, with whom he is finalising details of a transatlantic trade deal, on side. The US President has repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada the '51st state.' Asked whether he had called out Mr Trump's remarks about Canada, the Prime Minister said: 'Canada and the US are our allies. Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and quite right, too. 'And that's the basis on which I've approached my discussions with all of our partners. I'm not going to get into the precise conversations I've had, but let me be absolutely clear: Canada is an independent, sovereign country and a much-valued member of the Commonwealth. 'And we work closely with Canada on any number of issues, whether that is defence and security – particularly the training in Ukraine, it's been something where Canada and the UK have worked very closely together.' He added: 'And one of the things I want to do is to open the door to taking out further, reducing out trade barriers with Canada. So, I'm really clear where we stand on that.' The UK and Canada have a trade relationship worth about £28 billion to the British economy and are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. But the two leaders have starkly different approaches to the US president. Mr Carney previously criticised the UK Government's invitation for Mr Trump to make a second state visit, telling Sky News earlier this year that Canadians were 'not impressed' by the gesture. Downing Street said Sir Keir would use his visit to Canada to argue that 'in a shifting global economy, the UK must retain its proud status as a free and open trading nation – strengthening our existing alliances while reducing barriers to trade with other countries around the world'. He is also expected to meet Mr Trump at the summit next week.
