Post Office Horizon scandal giant Fujitsu in line for another £24.8m of taxpayers' money

Post Office Horizon scandal giant Fujitsu in line for another £24.8m of taxpayers' money The Post Office has announced Japanese IT giant Fujitsu will be handed a deal extension to help transfer infamous Horizon system to new provider The Japanese software giant at the heart of the Post Office Horizon scandal is set to rake in another £24.8million of taxpayers’ money after being handed an eight-month contract extension. Fujitsu’s current deal with the Post Office was due to end in March next year. However, that was pushed back to the end of November to “facilitate the transition process” to a new IT provider. It is the latest in a string of lucrative contract extensions given to Fujitsu, despite its role in one of Britain’s biggest miscarriages of justice in which hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly convicted of theft and fraud. It was announced in May this year that outsourcing giant Accenture had been awarded a “walk in and take over” deal to run Horizon. However, Fujitsu is still involved and getting paid until next year when the contract ends. Another company, One View Commerce, will be tasked with developing a replacement IT system in time. The £322million contract with Accenture is for an initial five years. Accenture will take over the operation of Horizon between June and September next year. The final date will be confirmed in March. Post Office boss Neil Brocklehurst said: “Ending our contract with Fujitsu is a critical milestone in Post Office’s transformation, and today’s agreement secures the transition away from Fujitsu and over to Accenture safely and responsibly to achieve our target of summer 2027. “In addition to ending our contract with Fujitsu, we are also working at pace with our leading technology suppliers, Accenture, OneView Commerce and Escher, to build a modern, resilient platform able to make everyday life easier for customers and postmasters for years to come.” Matt Prebble, head of Accenture in the UK and Ireland, said: “We understand how important it is that postmasters can continue serving their customers and communities throughout this transformation. Our priority is a safe and carefully managed transition that supports continued trading in branches.” [Image text:] Post Office IC Burnt PastCtfce