So, the Post Office had to shell out more than £600m to stick with the problematic Horizon IT system, even though they wanted to get rid of it 10 years ago. The original deal with Fujitsu back in 1999 left the Post Office in a sticky situation where they couldn’t switch systems or even build a new one, leading to a major injustice case.
They tried to switch suppliers in 2012, but it was too expensive to buy the code from Fujitsu or start from scratch. So they just kept paying Fujitsu more and more while they couldn’t even check the software that was sending innocent sub-postmasters to jail.
The Post Office finally got the rights to the Horizon software in 2023 for just £10m because, let’s be real, who else would want it? But now they might use it as a replacement – let’s see how that goes.
The whole mess started when Tony Blair and the Labour government ignored warnings about the deal with Fujitsu in 1999. They didn’t really care who owned the code, and now, more than 20 years later, the Post Office is still stuck with Fujitsu.
The Post Office has spent over £2.5bn on Fujitsu contracts since 1999, and still, sub-postmasters are struggling with the Horizon system. Fujitsu is just looking out for themselves, not the people who suffered because of their faulty system.
The Post Office is making changes to fix the Horizon issues, but let’s be honest, it’s been a long time coming. Let’s hope they finally get it right this time.
