12 January 2024
Outsourcing IT company Fujitsu was responsible for the Horizon software used by the Post Office when it wrongly convicted postmasters. Many lost their jobs and savings and in some cases went to prison or lost their lives.
Fujitsu should NEVER receive another public sector contract and should be removed immediately from the government's list of Strategic Suppliers.
The whole country is furious about the Post Office scandal. People like you demanded that the former boss of the Post Office Paula Vennells should lose her CBE. Now let’s get Fujitsu out of our public services.
Since 2012, the government has awarded Fujitsu nearly 200 contracts worth £6.8 billion. The company currently provides large IT systems to the tax authority, HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions. In 2014, Fujitsu sued the NHS for £700 million in secret after failures on its IT contract. Shockingly, Fujitsu STILL has contracts right now with the Post Office after everything that has happened. The former UK boss of Fujitsu from the time of the scandal received £2.6 million and walked away.
Public services should work for the people - not just bosses and contractors. Outsourcing to companies like Fujitsu makes this harder:
- Government can outsource as a way to avoid responsibility and muddy the waters
- Public sector bodies can end up trusting new and shiny companies instead of their own workers
- Outsourcing diverts funding away, instead of building public sector capacity and expertise - this leads to inadequate management of contracts
- The priority for outsourcing companies is to make a profit for their owners, not delivering a public service
Fujitsu isn’t just one rotten apple. Just look what happened with...
1) Carillion. Chaos resulted when, after paying out £554 million in dividends to shareholders between 2009 and 2016, the construction and facilities management company collapsed in 2018. They had hundreds of government contracts, including to construct two NHS hospitals.
2) Serco. Britain’s £37 billion Covid track and trace system was such a disastrous failure, a report by parliament’s cross-party Health and Social Care committee into the Serco-led system suggested there was no indication the system made any impact on the spread of the virus.
3) G4S. G4S won a £237 million contract to provide security at the 2012 London Olympics. However, just two weeks before the opening of the games, the company announced that it would be unable to deliver the service it was contracted to provide, forcing the Home Office to bring in the British Army.
Fujitsu had a PFI scheme with the Post Office. PFI has been a complete disaster all round - making our hospitals and schools many times more expensive to build and leaving public bodies in debt.
Let’s send a crystal clear message to government - we don’t want Fujitsu anywhere near OUR public services.
Photo used under Creative Commons licensing, thanks to Elias Gomez.
Comments
Eddie Dougall replied on Permalink
Too many private companies that benefit from government contracts fail to deliver what they are contracted to do, despite eye-watering sums of taxpayers money being handed out. There seems to be little or no penalties enforced for poor performance. Handing out lucrative contracts to serial failures goes on apace. Fujitsu must be forced to repay their remuneration for the Horizon software which has caused what has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in UK history. Fujitsu must never be awarded another government contract.
Andy Coles replied on Permalink
Sack Fujitsu and the head or the Post Office. Handing back her Honours is not enough. She should be sacked as well to really punish her for telling post workers there was nothing wrong and were the only complainants, along with Fujitsu. She lied Lexington to poverty and deaths. Disgusting behaviour.
ObiWan replied on Permalink
Couldn't have said it better, one caveat, the police should now move to bring their own prosecution, and pave the way for private prosecutions plus jail time, sorry that was three caveats
Leigh Watson replied on Permalink
Let's stop these crimes taking place.
MRS MD TARRANT replied on Permalink
Im absolutely STUNNED to read that Fujitsu still has contracts with our public services. They should NEVER be allowed anywhere near them.
Victoria Palmet replied on Permalink
Are you aware Fujitsu is also used on London underground. I also am a firm believer that everything taken away from the British public and sold off by the Thatcher woman, should be returned to the British public, Tony Blair should have had the decency to do that but failed, he let the British public down big time. Keep campaigning.
Jayneì TANN replied on Permalink
Those responsible should pay and be banned from trading and exposed
Ken Garrad replied on Permalink
Political leaders should be held responsible for their decisions and made to resign for mistakes
Cheryl replied on Permalink
Those responsible for mismanagement of the public purse must also be held responsible.
John replied on Permalink
Anyone in Senior Management of the Post Office, Government and Fujitsu, should be brought to trial and imprisoned. They knew about the Horizon shortcomings and failures and normal hardworking humans committed suicide, lost their own personal saving, that were wrongly paid back to the Post Office, had families broken in two, and were wrongly imprisoned. It will happen again. Find them imprison them. Take their finances away to pay for the mountain of damage they knowingly caused the dignified Sub Postmasters.
Elizabeth Hutch... replied on Permalink
Sack Fujitsu.
David Tulk replied on Permalink
Start with INFORMATION. Keep digging. How did Vennels get appointed, by whom and how do they hide? Eventually Understanding. Start teaching kids at every level and more TV programmes on how good honest people can be influenced, the role of lawyers in protecting the morally decrepit and so on.
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