The Post Office has decided to extend its contract with Fujitsu for the Horizon IT system for an additional year, committing to a payment of £41 million. This extension will allow the use of Horizon until March 2027. The Horizon system has been central to a major scandal involving the wrongful prosecution of over 900 sub-postmasters, who were falsely accused of financial discrepancies due to faults in the software.
A spokesperson for the Post Office stated that the organization is determined to move away from Fujitsu and the Horizon system as soon as feasible. They indicated that efforts are underway to recruit a different supplier to manage Horizon while a new system is developed. The Post Office expects to award a contract for this new supplier by July 2026, although reports suggest that the contract could potentially be extended until 2028 to ensure a smooth transition.
In the past, the Post Office was pursuing an internal project named NBIT to create an alternative to Horizon. However, concerns over rising costs and complexities led to the termination of the NBIT initiative following a management turnaround plan introduced by the new chair in November 2024. Consequently, the Post Office is now focused on procuring software from external suppliers, and this process is currently in progress.
Fujitsu executives have publicly acknowledged the company’s shortcomings related to Horizon, admitting that the system contained bugs and defects from its inception. Paul Patterson, the head of Fujitsu’s European division, conveyed a recognition of a “moral obligation” to provide financial support for the affected sub-postmasters, but no specific timeline or amount has been disclosed.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz6n2v7ywgeo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss