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Questions to be answered over Tory donor’s involvement in Horizon scandal
Evidence from the Post Office inquiry suggests Simon Blagden – formerly of Fujitsu and now in a government quango role – had greater involvement than previously realised in the notorious IT scandal that blamed subpostmasters for crimes they did not commit, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
Protestors outside the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at the International Dispute Resolution Centre, London, ahead of the one-day hearing on issues relating to compensation. Between 2000 and 2014, more than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses (SPMs) were falsely prosecuted based on information from the Horizon computer system, installed and maintained by Fujitsu, December 8, 2022

EVIDENCE at the Post Office inquiry uncovered by Private Eye magazine links a top Tory donor to the Horizon scandal.

The inquiry is investigating how the Post Office persecuted subpostmasters for thefts they did not commit. The Post Office bought a computer system called Horizon that was used in the branches from IT giant Fujitsu. 

The Horizon system records on sales were inaccurate, but instead of blaming the system, the Post Office blamed the subpostmasters, prosecuting them — resulting in jail sentences — in what is one of Britain’s biggest injustice scandals.

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