Contract for Fujistu shows Government ‘held to ransom’
The Post Office campaigner hit out at an HMRC extension to a contract with the IT firm at the heart of the scandal
The Government is “being held to ransom” by the firm at the heart of the Post Office scandal after a multi-million pound contract extension was agreed, a hero campaigner has warned.
Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon software led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters for theft and false accounting.
Despite the scandal, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has granted a year-long extension to Fujitsu to run its Trader Support Service (TSS) sparking criticism from the campaigner.
Sir Alan told The i Paper: “I think it’s a bit mad at the moment until things are resolved with Fujitsu over the Post Office issues.
“They keep pushing it away because they’re waiting for the outcome of the inquiry. But even so why are they digging themselves into an even bigger hole until that’s been resolved?

“I don’t understand why they’re not looking at other companies to take this work on.
“They can’t seem to remove themselves from it. It sounds like Fujitsu is so ingrained in government systems, they’re being held to ransom all the time over these things.”
The year-long extension covers the contract to run its Trader Support Service (TSS), the Government’s main post-Brexit scheme for helping traders move goods from the British mainland to Northern Ireland.
According to The Independent, the TSS extension is worth £66.8 million and was approved as it is an extension rather than a new contract.
In January 2024, Fujitsu announced it would voluntarily pause bidding for new government contracts until the Post Office scandal inquiry was complete.
Last January, the Japanese firm agreed to contribute to the compensation of sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted for using data from Horizon.
But in November, the firm’s European chief executive Paul Patterson told the inquiry there had been no discussion of how much Fujitsu should contribute.
Sir Alan added: “They’ve already said there’s an intention for them to make some sort of commitment to resolving the issue with the sub postmasters.
“But what have they actually done? Nothing.”
He has previously hit out at the Prime Minister over slow compensation to sub-postmasters.
Lord Arbuthnot, who campaigned for the wrongly convicted subpostmasters, said the TSS extension sent a message to Fujitsu that the country doesn’t care about its “unethical behaviour”.
“Second, it weakens the government’s bargaining power in requiring Fujitsu to bear a substantial portion of the cost of that scandal,” he told The Independent.
“Third, it suggests that the Government is uncomfortably dependent on Fujitsu. And fourth, it ignores the fact that Fujitsu’s capability on this contract may be no better than their Post Office capability.”
Last year, The i Paper revealed the IT giant was still managing a top secret UK military system nearly two years after its Government contract to do so should have expired.
The firm was also granted access to priority lanes to win hundreds of millions of pounds in Government contracts despite concerns over Horizon.
HMRC rejected Sir Alan’s claim that the extension showed the Government was being held to ransom by Fujitsu.
A spokesperson said: “This service has provided vital support for almost 60,000 traders moving goods under the Windsor Framework, enabling them to follow the correct processes without the need to purchase specialist software, saving them significant time and money.
“It’s critical this support continues while the new customs arrangements under the Windsor Framework are implemented.”
A Fujitsu spokesperson said: “We are working with the UK Government to ensure we adhere to the voluntary restrictions we put in place regarding bidding for new contracts while the Post Office Inquiry is ongoing.
“Based on the findings of the inquiry, we will work with Government on the appropriate actions, including contribution to compensation. We continue to offer our deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families.”