The Post Office is pushing for a four-year extension on its contentious contract for the Fujitsu Horizon system, just as Paul Patterson, Fujitsu’s European head, testified at the inquiry into this major miscarriage of justice in UK history.
Patterson made it clear that if there’s going to be an extension, it needs to be short. He expressed a lack of trust in the Post Office. During his second appearance at the inquiry on November 11, he discussed the ongoing contract negotiations. The Post Office first requested a five-year extension in December 2023, and requests have kept coming. “Just this morning, I had another request for four years as I walked in,” he shared.
Back in April 2021, the Post Office announced it was preparing for the Horizon contract’s expiration with Fujitsu, extending the agreement by a year to ease its transition to a new system. By May 2023, they targeted 2025 for project completion. Yet, in April of this year, Computer Weekly indicated a further extension was unavoidable.
Patterson expressed optimism about the new Post Office leadership, mentioning that they seem to be gaining better insight into their actual business needs from the Horizon system. However, he raised significant concerns about continuing to use a system that’s reached its “end of life.” Some components are so outdated that Fujitsu is hesitant to shut them down, fearing the consequences.
“I’m really concerned about this. The extension needs to be the shortest possible because this system isn’t designed for the long term,” Patterson noted. Over the past four years, the focus has shifted towards the New Branch IT (NBIT) system, but he questioned whether a three, four, or five-year extension is even feasible.
A review by experts from the Infrastructure and Projects Authority found the NBIT project to be “currently unachievable,” with costs soaring from £180 million to £1.1 billion and implementation delays stretching up to five years, as reported by Computer Weekly in May.
Additionally, the Post Office’s new management is reconsidering its decision to build NBIT software in-house and might go for an off-the-shelf solution instead. Escher emerged as a leading contender but was initially overlooked in favor of homegrown development.
A significant part of the contract will soon conclude. By February 2025, all Horizon data, including historical records, will migrate from Fujitsu to the Post Office’s in-house systems, freeing the organization from needing to rely on Fujitsu for data related to subpostmasters’ account discrepancies.
The inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT issues is now in its final phase, focusing on current practices and future recommendations.
Computer Weekly initially brought this scandal to light in 2009, uncovering the experiences of seven subpostmasters affected by the Horizon software, which ultimately led to one of the largest injustices in British history.