IT giant Fujitsu should repay the “fortune” spent on the Post Office scandal if it is found culpable, justice secretary Alex Chalk has suggested.
Rishi Sunak’s government will want to “secure proper recompense on behalf of the taxpayer” if the public inquiry delivers a damning verdict on the firm behind the faulty Horizon software, Mr Chalk said.
It comes as a Post Office investigator described as having a “heavy footprint” is due to give evidence for the inquiry’s first hearing of the year on Thursday.
Mr Sunak announced that hundreds of subpostmasters in England and Wales would have their names cleared by the end of the year under blanket legislation to be introduced within weeks.
And Mr Chalk suggested that Fujitsu will have to foot a large part of the compensation bill if the inquiry finds the “scale of the incompetence is as we might imagine”.
While the proposals were widely welcomed, The PM is facing increasing calls to go further and bar Fujitsu from securing government contracts and pursue the firm for payments.
Mr Chalk said the government would wait for the conclusions of the inquiry chaired by retired judge Sir Wyn Williams before it decides what action to take against the company.
“But bluntly, if the scale of the incompetence is as we might imagine, then I simply would want to secure proper recompense on behalf of the taxpayer,” the cabinet minister told ITV’s Peston.
“It’s absolutely right that there should be justice across the piece – yes for the subpostmasters which we’re talking about today – but frankly also for the taxpayer. This has cost and will cost a fortune.”
If Fujitsu is found to be at fault, it “should face the consequences”, Mr Chalk added, in a sign ministers could launch legal action against the Japanese company.
Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake also told BBC Newsnight that it would be “only right” for Fujitsu to contribute to compensation bill if the inquiry finds it bears a lot of the responsibility for the scandal.
Hundreds of Post Office branch managers were convicted of swindling money on the basis of evidence from the tech giant’s flawed Horizon accounting system.
Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a £600,000 compensation payment, or potentially more if they go through a process of having their claim individually assessed.
There will also be a new upfront payment of £75,000 to many of the 700 or so affected, as Mr Sunak said innocent people embroiled in the fiasco would be “swiftly exonerated and compensated”.
Ministers are setting aside up to £1bn for compensation. Mr Hollinrake explained in the Commons that the victims would be eligible for compensation simply by signing a declaration that they hadn’t committed any crime.
Alan Bates – the former subpostmaster on whom the recent ITV series centre – said it was “about time” for the move to exonerate Post Office staff – but warned that “the devil is in the detail” when it comes to the government’s legislation.
But asked if he would be celebrating the victory, the 69-year-old told The Times “you must be joking” as he and many others are yet to receive final compensation.
Mr Bates told The Mirror: “£75,000 is an alternative to having your case independently assessed, so for the smaller cases, it will probably suffice. But for many cases, it is not enough.”
Ministers have acknowledged the radical plan of a law to enforce mass exoneration could result in some subpostmasters who did commit crimes being wrongly cleared – but insisted the process was the most effective way of dealing with the vast majority who were victims.
Toby Jones played former subpostmaster Alan Bates in the ITV drama
