Post Office inquiry: Fujitsu boss says editing of evidence 'shameful'

The boss of Fujitsu's European arm has described the editing of witness statements that were used to prosecute sub-postmasters as "shameful".

Speaking in front of the Post Office inquiry, Paul Patterson talked about evidence of bugs in the Horizon software being edited out, which he said was "appalling".

He confirmed the IT system had bugs, errors and defects "from the start".

Mr Patterson also reiterated the firm's apology for its part in the scandal.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters and postmistresses were prosecuted for theft and false accounting after money appeared to be missing from their branches, but the prosecutions were based on evidence from faulty Horizon accounting software.

Some sub-postmasters wrongfully went to prison, many were financially ruined. Some have since died.

It has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history, but to date only 93 convictions have been overturned and thousands of people are still waiting for compensation settlements more than 20 years on.

Describing Fujitsu's delay in agreeing to compensate victims, Mr Paterson said: "We have clearly let society down, and the sub-postmasters down."

During the hearing on Friday, Mr Patterson, who joined Fujitsu in 2010 and is now director of the firm's European arm, was asked when the company became aware that the evidence the Post Office was relying on to prosecute sub-postmasters had been affected by the bugs, errors and defects (BEDs) in Horizon.

He said that the company became aware "latterly" that this faulty evidence was being used for prosecutions.

When the inquiry counsel Jason Beer KC followed up to ask why those BEDs were not raised in the witness statements provided by Fujitsu employees to the Post Office for prosecutions, Mr Patterson said: "I do not know why.

"On a personal level, I am surprised that that detail was not included," he added, before confirming that some references to these BEDs were edited out of evidence "by others".

Mr Patterson said that it was: "Shameful, appalling - my understanding of how our laws work in this country [is] that all of the evidence should have been put in front of the sub-postmaster, that the Post Office was relying on to prosecute them."

At the start of the Friday hearing, the Fujitsu director reiterated his apology to sub-postmasters and their families, describing the scandal as an "appalling miscarriage of justice".

He said the technology giant was determined to "get to the truth wherever it lays".

Following up on his appearance earlier this week in front of the Business and Trade select committee, he said that the firm would also "engage with government" on compensation for the sub-postmasters affected.

Mr Patterson added that he had a "great deal of respect" for those affected, and that he would be happy to meet any former sub-postmasters or sub-postmistresses who would like to.

Speaking to the BBC on Friday, former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton said that at the end of the saga he was searching for accountability.

"It's not for me to judge people - it's for professional people to judge people. But I'd like them to be judged."

The statutory inquiry, led by Sir Wyn Williams, began in 2021 and was established to ensure there was a "public summary of the failings which occurred with the Horizon IT system at the Post Office", which subsequently led to the wrongful convictions of sub-postmasters.

The global chief executive of Fujitsu, Takahito Tokita, also apologised for the firm's part in the scandal earlier this week.

Making his first public comments on the scandal to the BBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Tokita said: "This is a big issue, which Fujitsu takes very seriously."

When asked if he would apologise, he added: "Yes, of course. Fujitsu has apologised for the impact on the postmasters' lives and their families."

The UK government has continued to award billions of pounds worth of public contracts to Fujitsu even after information about the scandal involving Horizon emerged.

But on Thursday, Minister Alex Burghart said the technology firm had written to the Cabinet Office to say that it would not bid for public contracts while the inquiry was ongoing.