Fujitsu has been urged by the Government to make interim compensation payouts to victims of the Post Office scandal.
The call came as critics pointed out the Japanese tech giant had “paid not one penny” for the “havoc and misery that it helped to cause”.
They also argued the under-fire company “should be nowhere near” new Government contracts as it emerged it continued to secure lucrative multimillion-pound deals with Whitehall, bankrolled by the taxpayer.
The company has already acknowledged it has a “moral obligation” to contribute to compensation, pending the outcome of the public inquiry led by Sir Wyn Williams.
The firm has come under renewed pressure after the publication of the first part of Sir Wyn’s final report.
It found around 1,000 people were wrongly prosecuted and convicted after Fujitsu’s defective Horizon accounting system made it appear as though money was missing at their Post Office branches.
Some victims were sent to prison or financially ruined, others were shunned by their communities, and some took their own lives.
The long-running battle for justice accelerated dramatically after ITV broadcast the drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which highlighted the scandal.
Sir Wyn said around 10,000 people are eligible to submit compensation claims following what has been dubbed as the worst miscarriage of justice in British legal history.
Labour former MP Kevan Jones, who now sits in the upper chamber as Lord Beamish, has been a long-standing champion for the subpostmasters.
He said: “To date, the Government and taxpayers have paid over a billion pounds, quite rightly, to those victims.
“Fujitsu have not paid one penny piece. They may have a moral obligation, but moral obligations do not pay compensation.”
He added: “So when will the Government get on and force Fujitsu to act on its moral obligations, put its hands in its pockets and at least pay some interim payments?
Responding, Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent said: “With regards to the payments by Fujitsu, we urge them to make interim payments, but there are ongoing conversations with Fujitsu, including regular meetings with the Crown representative, the Cabinet Office and DBT (the Department for Business and Trade) and we will continue to have such meetings.”
Conservative peer Lord Arbuthnot, who played a pivotal role in exposing the scandal, said: “Fujitsu has paid not one penny towards the victims of the havoc and misery that it helped to cause.
“Is the Government – is the country – over a barrel to Fujitsu? If not, why is Fujitsu still winning government work? If we are, what are the Government doing about it?”
Lady Anderson said: “They have accepted that they have a moral obligation to give funds, but he will be even more aware than I am that we are yet to see a penny.
“Fujitsu have agreed that they will have to make a financial contribution, but I am urged not to give a running commentary, although we will welcome any interim payment in due course.”
In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, a further 12 new deals had been struck with the company over the last year.
The Government has said the majority are for services already provided by Fujitsu and were put in place to ensure continuity of services.
Liberal Democrat Lord Clement-Jones raised concerns over HM Revenue & Customs continuing to award contacts to Fujitsu.
He said: “In the light of the Horizon report, which condemns Fujitsu’s conduct as a key contributor to the suffering of thousands of innocent people, isn’t it already very clear that Fujitsu should be nowhere near any new contract?”
Lady Anderson said: “Some of this is about continuity of service, to make sure that we are still able to have business supply secured.”
Given the “human tragedies” caused by the wrongful convictions of subpostmasters, Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick pressed the minister over due diligence measures “to ensure that contractors with a history of significant failures or legal issues can demonstrate that they have addressed these concerns before being awarded new contracts”.
Lady Anderson said new procurement legislation provided buyers with more scope to exclude suppliers who had performed poorly on previous contracts.
She added: “Due diligence on such failures is also more straightforward as the act now provides for the sharing of information on poorly performing suppliers.”
A Fujitsu spokesperson said: “We remain committed to providing our full cooperation to the inquiry as Sir Wyn prepares his final report and we are engaged with Government regarding Fujitsu’s contribution to compensation.”
They added: “We continue to work 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.”
