TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Fujitsu said on Thursday that, based on the findings of an inquiry into Britain’s Post Office scandal, it will work with the UK government on “appropriate actions” including compensation.
Fujitsu is under pressure over its role in a scandal in which hundreds of Post Office workers in Britain were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting because of glitches in software developed by the company.
“Based on the findings of the inquiry, we will also be working with the UK government on the appropriate actions, including contribution to compensation,” the company said in a statement.
A public inquiry into the scandal at the state-owned institution, which has more than 11,500 branches, is ongoing.
British business minister Kemi Badenoch is seeking a meeting with Fujitsu as soon as possible to discuss potential compensation for victims, a source told Reuters on Wednesday.
Fujitsu has an ethical duty to compensate the victims of the scandal, the IT company’s European head Paul Patterson told a parliamentary hearing this week.
Patterson is due to appear before the inquiry on Friday.
A British minister said on Thursday that the government had received a letter from Fujitsu voluntarily undertaking not to bid for government contracts whilst the inquiry is ongoing.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey, Kantaro Komiya and Rocky Swift; editing by Christina Fincher)
