Downing Street said it “fully intends” to make Fujitsu pay for the Post Office scandal if the firm is found culpable.
Pressure is mounting on the company behind the faulty Horizon software and No 10 said it will wait for the conclusion of an ongoing statutory inquiry before deciding on its next steps.
Asked about the prospect of clawing back money from the Post Office, Post Office bosses’ bonuses or Fujitsu, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “You heard ministers talk about this both in terms of questions about individuals receiving bonuses or companies who were involved in this.
“There is the inquiry underway that is seeking to establish the facts on that point in terms of culpability. I think for our part all we can say at the moment is that we will use the facts established by the inquiry to hold those individuals and businesses, should they be found culpable, to account.”
Asked what was meant by holding to account, the spokesman said: “Whether it be financially, legally or otherwise. But I can’t pre-judge the work that is literally going on right now in the inquiry to establish the facts.”
The spokesman said they did not want to “cut across” the inquiry but added: “But as I say, we fully intend, should culpability be found with individuals or businesses, to hold them to account.”
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 postmasters were prosecuted after faulty accounting software made it look like money was missing from their sites. The Government yesterday announced a plan to quash all of the convictions.
