(2 days, 13 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)
This Government are fully committed to providing full and fair redress to victims of the Horizon scandal and making sure all of those responsible face justice and contribute to redress.
The latest redress figures published by my Department on Friday show that £768 million has now been paid to over 5,100 claimants across all redress schemes, representing a more than tripling of the total amount of redress paid to victims by Government since the end of June 2024.
I am pleased to inform the House that on Friday, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my right hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Jonathan Reynolds), held a positive and constructive meeting with Takahito Tokita (CEO, Fujitsu Ltd) and Paul Patterson (Director, Fujitsu Services Ltd).
The Secretary of State welcomed Fujitsu’s agreement to begin talks on Fujitsu’s contribution to compensation costs, ahead of the conclusion of Sir Wyn Williams’s Horizon IT inquiry—a joint statement was issued after the meeting and published on gov.uk and Fujitsu’s website. Fujitsu has previously stated its moral obligation to contribute to compensation for the victims of the Post Office scandal, which we have welcomed.
Officials from the Department for Business and Trade will continue to engage with Fujitsu representatives in full. We will not provide a running commentary on these discussions, but will keep both Houses informed at key points.
The Secretary of State commented after Friday’s meeting that we must never forget the lives ruined by the Horizon scandal and no amount of redress can take away that pain. But, as I am sure Members of this House agree, justice can and must be done. This Government are determined to hold those responsible to account, and will continue to make rapid progress on compensation and redress.
[HCWS507]