- Post Office CEO acknowledges fund misuse
- Fujitsu apologizes for involvement
- Government allocates £1 billion for victims
As he testified before Members of Parliament alongside a senior Fujitsu representative, the Post Office’s CEO acknowledged the possibility that the funds withdrawn from branch managers were included in “hefty executive compensation packages.”
Members of Parliament have been informed that funds improperly removed from victims of the Horizon scandal may have been used to pay Post Office executives.
Nick Read, the Post Office’s chief executive officer, stated that the organization has yet to “examine” the circumstances surrounding the cash that sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses contributed in an attempt to conceal the illegitimate financial gaps caused by the flawed Horizon software.
External auditors have reportedly examined it twice or thrice, but “we have struggled to uncover” it due to several factors, including poor data quality.
Nonetheless, he conceded that the funds stolen from branch managers might have been included in “substantial compensation packages for executives.”
Without a doubt, it is possible, he asserted.
The information has been provided to the statutory inquiry into the Horizon scandal, which will investigate the whereabouts of the funds, according to Mr. Read.
He testified in front of members of parliament’s business committee in the presence of Paul Patterson, the director of Fujitsu Services Limited in Europe, who expressed remorse on behalf of his organization for its role in this appalling injustice.
Additionally, Mr. Patterson asserted that the technology behemoth has a “moral obligation” to contribute to the compensation scheme for those devastated by the scandal.
He spoke with the organization’s executives in Japan, who stated that the company anticipates discussing the appropriate payment amount with the government.
In Scotland, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, the country’s chief prosecutor, apologized to those who “suffered a miscarriage of justice” due to prosecutions conducted by the Crown Office in Scotland rather than the Post Office.
Ms. Bain KC wished to “acknowledge the harm inflicted on the individuals who have suffered a miscarriage of justice in these cases.”
“As the head of the criminal prosecution system in Scotland, I extend an apology to the wrongfully accused and convicted sub-postmasters and postmistresses on behalf of those who have failed them,” she said in a statement to MSPs at Holyrood, where she was testifying.
I apologize to Post Office staff who investigated and reported erroneous instances for their oversight.
Injustice Unveiled: Fujitsu Apology
It follows the ITV drama Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office, which recounted the postmasters’ twenty-year fight for justice. This sparked renewed anger over the matter.
More than 700 Post Office branch managers were convicted of theft and false accounting between 1999 and 2015 due to inconsistencies in Fujitsu’s Horizon system that created the appearance of missing funds at their locations.
Some were imprisoned, many suffered financial losses, and at least four suicides were tied to the incident.
“We are sincerely sorry,” said the Fujitsu CEO.
Patterson apologized to parliamentarians on behalf of his group, conceding that it would have to pay for the restitution plan.
Mr. Patterson stated that Fujitsu wishes to extend an apology for its support in this appalling miscarriage of justice.
“We were actively engaged from the outset”
We regret our system problems and helping the Post Office prosecute sub-post managers.
He stated that the company provided evidence that was used to incarcerate innocent individuals. Although he was unsure when executives became aware of Horizon-related issues, the software contained flaws at a “very early stage.”
The government has allocated £1 billion for the victims of Horizon. It already said that Fujitsu will be charged if the inquiry finds liability.
Additionally, it has declared its intention to enact legislation to mass exonerate individuals erroneously convicted in the scandal.
However, on Tuesday, the Lady Chief Justice, the highest-ranking judge in England and Wales, refuted claims. She stated that the judiciary had not approved the proposed legislation, describing such assertions as “blatantly false.”
In her address to the Commons Justice Committee, Lady Carr stated, “Any narrative circulating that the courts have been unable to handle these cases or will continue to struggle to handle substantial volumes of these cases in the future is completely false. “Simply put, it lacks factual accuracy.”
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She stated that it has never been the judiciary’s place to comment on the prudence of well-established proposed legislation, and neither the judiciary nor I have ever done so.
Mr. Patterson, the current leader of Fujitsu and who has held this position since 2019, stated that he was perplexed. He questioned why the technology company failed to take action when it discovered system flaws.
I wish I had, and since my 2019 employment, I’ve considered the organization’s position. Based on the evidence I’ve observed, I cannot say.
Members of parliament are “shocked” by the evidence.
MPs appeared at times exasperated by the two executives’ inability to answer who knew what and when.
Mr. Read did not say when the Post Office discovered remote Horizon software access.
The Post Office believed there had been no miscarriages of justice throughout its staff prosecutions. Remote access to the Horizon terminals was unavailable.
In 2017, managers finally conceded the possibility of High Court proceedings initiated by over 500 sub-post managers. This development facilitated the overturning of convictions.
The chairman of the Business and Trade Committee, Liam Byrne, described himself as “fairly shocked” by the evidence.
“The entire situation is insane”
The committee also heard from Alan Bates and other campaigners whose lives were included in the ITV scandal drama.
They lamented the sluggishness of the compensation scheme, stating that red tape and bureaucracy had “bogged it down.”
According to Mr. Bates, his “financial redress” procedure had encountered numerous setbacks.
He explained, “I believe it had been 53 days since they asked three straightforward questions.” “The situation as a whole is insane.”
“Moreover, the absence of transparency further compounded the frustration.” We are still determining what occurs in these cases after they vanish from the location.
The overturned conviction of former subpostmistress Jo Hamilton stated: “In my opinion, justice is served when the entire group with which I appeared in court—the 555—obtains complete and equitable monetary compensation.
Upon the complete payment of all 555, my task will be concluded.
