Tory donor embroiled in Post Office scandal given government role
A Tory donor caught up in the Post Office scandal was given a non-executive government role on the Board of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), writes Isabel Oakeshott.
Simon Blagden, who has donated £376,000 to the Conservatives, was non-executive chairman of Fujitsu, the IT company linked to what Rishi Sunak has called one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history, until 2019.
Read the special report here.
Lawyer who prosecuted sub-postmaster writes public apology
A lawyer who successfully prosecuted a sub-postmaster accused of stealing from his own business has written a public apology.
Gareth Roberts, a criminal barrister, was briefed by the Post Office for the case against the unnamed worker several years ago.
The prosecution was one of more than 900 taken against sub-postmasters across the country after faulty accounting software, called Horizon, led to shortfalls at their branches.
Read the full story by Blathnaid Corless.
Fujitsu will not bid for government contracts during ongoing Post Office inquiry
Fujitsu will not bid for government contracts while an inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is ongoing, the Cabinet Office minister has said.
Speaking in the Commons, Alex Burghart said the Japanese technology company had written to the Cabinet Office to say it was “voluntarily” undertaking not to bid for government contracts during that time unless asked.
It comes amid calls for the company to be blocked from bidding for future contracts.
Read the full story here.
Welcome to our coverage
Good morning and welcome back to our Post Office Horizon IT inquiry live blog.
Today will see Fujitsu’s Europe chief executive Paul Patterson give evidence – days after he made headlines with an apology on his company’s behalf in front of MPs.
On Tuesday Mr Patterson told a select committee he was “truly sorry” for Horizon’s part in what he described as an “appalling miscarriage of justice”.
He also acknowledged that the Japanese firm had a “moral obligation” to contribute to compensation for victims of the scandal.
Several sub-postmasters are expected to attend the inquiry in person today, to hear Mr Patterson’s evidence for themselves.
We expect lawyers will question Mr Patterson on when he first became aware of issues with the software and what efforts he took to ensure relevant information was passed on to the Post Office.
It promises to be a dramatic day, so stay tuned.
The hearing is scheduled to start at 10am.