Fujitsu's European boss, Paul Patterson, has told MPs the company is 'not a parasite' amid criticism over its continued multimillion-pound UK government contracts and refusal to specify a compensation figure for victims of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.
Appearing before the Commons business and trade committee, Patterson was challenged by Labour MP Liam Byrne, who accused Fujitsu of 'behaving like a parasite on the British state' while making millions from government IT deals. Patterson defended the firm, noting it had voluntarily paused bidding for new public contracts in January 2023 and would walk away from existing ones if asked.
Patterson reiterated Fujitsu's 'moral obligation' to pay redress but said the company would determine the quantum after the public inquiry's final report, expected later this year. He admitted Fujitsu knew of Horizon's faults since the 1990s and helped the Post Office in prosecutions of subpostmasters.
The scandal, described as the worst miscarriage of justice in UK history, saw over 1,000 people wrongly prosecuted due to faulty software. The government has so far paid £1.32bn to more than 10,000 claimants, with total costs estimated at £1.8bn.
