Ian Hislop has called on Fujitsu bosses to pay £1million to each victim of the Post Office scandal in a self-styled "tirade".
On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak announced plans to exonerate all those wrongfully convicted in one of Britain's most widespread miscarriages of justice. It paves the way for accused Post Office branch managers to clear their names and receive compensation for being wrongly accused of crimes.
But Hislop, the editor of Private Eye - which has been reporting on the scandal since 2011 - has demanded that Fujitsu, which developed the bug-ridden Horizon system used by postmasters, hand out seven-figure sums to all victims. A visibly angry Hislop said on ITV's Peston show on Wednesday: "The government has continued to use Fujitsu. What we need to do now is say to Fujitsu: 'We want compensation from you. How about £1 million per sub-postmaster or mistress?'.
"That amounts to £1 billion, which is nothing compared to what the taxpayer has paid to Fujitsu. It's absolutely disgraceful."
Hislop continued to criticize both the Post Office and Fujitsu, highlighting how the money paid by sub-postmasters to make up shortfalls in their branches ended up back into the system, with healthy bonuses then being paid to Post Office executives. He said the money-making incentives for the Post Office meant Horizon's problems were being "ignored", adding: "They should all have to pay back their bonuses."
The government is apparently considering requiring Fujitsu to refund taxpayers' money if it is found guilty of the defective Horizon software. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said that if the statutory investigation into the saga finds that the "extent of the incompetence is as we might imagine", the government would want to "secure appropriate compensation on behalf of the taxpayer".
Chalk said the government would wait for the conclusions of the inquiry chaired by retired judge Sir Wyn Williams before deciding what action to take against the company.
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He added: "It is absolutely right that there should be justice over the piece. This has and will cost a fortune."
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Fujitsu concerns
Fujitsu has won government contracts worth billions in recent years and its continued involvement in major IT projects has raised concerns. Ministers tried to prevent Fujitsu from getting more official work but this proved "impossible" despite his "woeful" performance, Tory peer Lord Maude of Horsham, who was a minister under David Cameron, said on Wednesday.
He added: "In 2010, we discovered that Fujitsu was deeply entrenched throughout the central government. Their performance on many of these contracts was dismal and the procurement system regulations at the time made this impossible, even though we tried to prevent them from winning any more contracts."
Hislop goes on a 'tirade'
During a fiery tirade about Peston, Hislop admitted he would "rant about this" as he spoke at length about the Post Office scandal. By no means did Hislop stick with Fujitsu, instead targeting politicians who only focused on the issue because of the popularity of the ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office. He also refused to praise the prime minister for announcing a blanket exemption for victims, claiming a sub-postmistress told him this was only happening because 2024 is an election year.
It didn't stop there. Hislop also criticized the Tory government for leaving the country in charge when former Post Office boss Paula Vennells was awarded a CBE, despite already being embroiled in the scandal at the time. He refused to respond to criticism of LibDem leader Sir Ed Davey, who is facing calls to resign over his part in the scandal. Davey, then Post Office minister, refused to meet campaigner Alan Bates to express his concerns about the fate of postmasters.
Hislop dismissed the attack, saying it was former Prime Minister David Cameron, now Foreign Secretary, who was in charge of the coalition government that saw Davey serve as Post Office Minister between 2010 and 2012. And he continued to attack the Tories by aiming his full ire at Conservative Party chairman Jake Berry, who was also seen in Peston.
Berry said the government could pass emergency legislation to take back "huge taxpayer-funded pensions" or former post office officials, but Hislop demanded to know why Berry and the Conservatives are taking action for "so long".
Hislop said: "It's absolutely foolish for this government to say, 'Hey, we're actually taking action now.'" Berry responded that it was "arguably complete and utter nonsense." Hislop then accused Berry of interrupting him, saying: "You're talking over everyone else, you've been doing it the whole programme... You can't just talk nonsense."
How will the compensation scheme work?
As part of the relief announcement on Wednesday, the government also revealed more details about the compensation wrongly convicted post office workers are entitled to. Those whose convictions are overturned will be eligible for compensation of £600,000, or possibly more if they go through a process where their claim is assessed individually.
Sunak also announced a £75,000 offer for sub-postmasters involved in a class action lawsuit against the Post Office - with ministers setting aside up to £1 billion in compensation. But Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake admitted that Fujitsu would likely not have to pay any compensation to the victims because the process would be "exhaustive and time-consuming."
What have the Post Office and Fujitsu said so far?
The Post Office says compensation offers have been made to "all 2,417 current or former postmasters in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme". They said the scheme remains open for late applications and pointed out that £124.7 million has been paid out so far.
Post Office CEO Nick Read said they are "paying full and fair compensation" as part of their "efforts to right the wrongs of the past". The Post Office says it continues to "encourage anyone who believes they have been wrongfully convicted in a Post Office prosecution for any reason to appeal" and continues to "try to contact people who may have been affected."
A spokesperson told Yahoo News UK: "Post Office continues to work with the government to support its efforts to expedite the acquittal of people with wrongful convictions and the swift payment of full and fair compensation."
Fujitsu previously said in a statement: "Post Office Horizon IT's current regulatory investigation examines complex events dating back more than two decades to understand who knew what, when and what they did with that knowledge. The investigation has reinforced the devastating impact on the lives of postal workers and their families, and Fujitsu has apologized for the role it played in their suffering.
"Fujitsu is fully committed to supporting the investigation to understand what happened and learn from it. Out of respect for the investigation process, it would be inappropriate for Fujitsu to comment further at this time."
Yahoo News UK has contacted Fujitsu for further comment.
