Fujitsu chief to face MPs grilling over Post Office compensation

The brag of Fujitsu's British operations volition look a caller grilling from MPs adjacent period amid unit connected the Japanese bundle institution to fork retired hundreds of millions of pounds arsenic portion of the immense Horizon IT ungraded compensation bill.

Sky News has learnt that Paul Patterson, manager of Fujitsu Services, volition beryllium questioned by the Commons concern and commercialized prime committee connected January 6 astir its discussions with the authorities astir a large fiscal contribution.

Mr Patterson past appeared earlier the committee astir 2 years ago.

Fujitsu, which supplied the faulty Horizon strategy that led to hundreds of sub-postmasters being wrongly convicted of fraud and theft, has repeatedly acknowledged its work to carnivore portion of the fiscal outgo of compensating victims.

The decision of Sir Wyn Williams's enquiry into the ungraded is expected to pave the mode for the institution and the authorities to hammer retired a last statement connected the size of its contribution.

A Fujitsu spokesperson said: "We stay committed to providing our afloat practice to the Inquiry arsenic Sir Wyn prepares his last report, and we are engaged with authorities regarding Fujitsu's publication to compensation."

Next month's proceeding volition travel soon aft Fujitsu and the Post Office agreed a further hold of their Horizon proviso agreement.

The government-owned institution is to wage different £41m to Fujitsu for the usage of the Horizon strategy from adjacent April until 31 March 2027.

The Post Office is expected to determination to an alternate supplier aft the expiry of that contract.

Horizon was initially introduced successful 1999, meaning it is apt to person been successful work for astir 30 years by the clip it is formally abandoned by the Post Office.

A spokesperson for the concern and commercialized committee declined to comment.