Disgraced Fujitsu – the company behind the Horizon software that helped the Post Office wrongly convict hundreds of subpostmasters – has just been given ANOTHER government contract by the Tories. However, that’s not the worst part – because unbelievably, the deal is for software to support UK nuclear experiments.
Yes. The fallout could be disastrous.
As LBC reported:
The National Nuclear Laboratory, which is owned and operated by the government, has awarded the firm a £155k contract for ‘software support’ until 2025…
The contract, published by procurement data provider Tussell, is for “software support” and is due to run until 31 March 2025.
Hairbrained Tories: we’ve got a great idea… why not give Fujitsu a nuclear contract?
The National Nuclear Laboratory does all sorts of stuff with nuclear energy. As it says on its website, this includes:
four strategic areas: Clean Energy, Environmental Restoration, Health and Nuclear Medicine and Security and Non-Proliferation.
That is, the laboratory dabbles in nuclear science and experiments – including nuclear power and weapons; note its ironic oxymoron that it deals with ‘security’ and ‘non-proliferation’. So, you’d think that the government would want to make sure that the National Nuclear Laboratory was a safe and secure environment.
Clearly fucking not, though – as they’ve now given Fujitsu a contract.
People on X were rightly outraged:
After the ITV Post Office Scandal documentary Rishi Sunak promised no new contracts for Fujitsu.
Less than two months later Fujitsu has been given a new one.
Fujitsu are of course linked to Infosys who are owned by Rishi Sunak’s family.
Endless corruption.
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) April 11, 2024
Fuck me…
Fujitsu has been awarded a new government contract. The sub-postmasters haven’t received compensation, the inquiry isn’t even over, but sure give even more money to those partly responsible for the false imprisonment of many innocents.
pic.twitter.com/yPPZgpE0hx— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) April 11, 2024
Moreover, Private Eye pointed out that Fujitsu are currently bidding for even more government contracts:
Despite Fujitsu assuring government they were not going to bid for any contracts until the inquiry into how sub-postmasters were persecuted over errors in its Horizon computer system had ended, the new Eye reveals they are actively bidding for gov contracts – including a £200m,… pic.twitter.com/EFrHPpDipO
— Private Eye Magazine (@PrivateEyeNews) April 10, 2024
Christopher Head was the youngest victim of the Horizon Post Office scandal. He told LBC:
When there is a pledge not to bid for contracts you kind of expect them to adhere to that. But the problem is these companies have shareholders, and these shareholders demand profitability. It is frustrating.
Fujitsu made this pledge that they wouldn’t voluntarily bid for contracts within the government while the inquiry is going on – but we all know the size of these companies makes it difficult.
Post Office scandal: you must have been in a nuclear bunker if you missed it
Unless you’ve been in a nuclear bunker for the past 12 months, then you can’t have missed the Post Office scandal.
As the Canary previously reported, Mr Bates vs the Post Office has brought the ongoing scandal over the Horizon IT system, and Post Office and politicians conduct at the time, back into the public eye.
More than 700 people running small local post offices received criminal convictions between 1999 and 2005 after faulty accounting software made it appear that money had gone missing from their branches.
The scandal has been described at an ongoing public inquiry as “the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history”.
Fujitsu: giving the UK its very own Hulk moment?
Yet here we are, with the Tories STILL giving Fujitsu another contract. Worse still, they’ve given it to them on the basis of providing tech support for nuclear technology. So, unless the government fancies itself as creating a league of superhumans, then it needs to revoke the contract.
Fujitsu cannot be trusted to run a piss up in a brewery – let alone software support for a nuclear experiments lab. It could barely handle the tech for provincial Post Offices. The Canary can see an Incredible Hulk moment coming on if this goes ahead – and we hope everyone has their nuclear bunkers ready.
Sign the petition against the contract here.
Featured image via the Canary
