{"id":382892,"date":"2025-08-29T16:35:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/382892\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T16:35:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:35:11","slug":"keir-starmer-under-pressure-to-block-fujitsu-from-370m-brexit-border-contract-politico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/382892\/","title":{"rendered":"Keir Starmer under pressure to block Fujitsu from \u00a3370m Brexit border contract \u2013 POLITICO"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fujitsu is bidding for a \u00a3370 million contract to retain control of the platform, which helps businesses navigate complex post-Brexit customs arrangements for moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>Fujitsu\u2019s bid was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/post-office-scandal-hit-fujitsu-vies-for-lucrative-brexit-border-contract\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/post-office-scandal-hit-fujitsu-vies-for-lucrative-brexit-border-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first reported by POLITICO in July<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Continuing to award public contracts to the firm \u201craises serious questions about the standards of fairness, accountability, and due diligence guiding public procurement in this country,\u201d the letter said. \u201cWhat message does it send when a company responsible for such harm is allowed to continue profiting from public money, unpenalised and unaccountable?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The U.K. lawmakers urge the government to institute a review of Fujitsu\u2019s eligibility to bid for critical public services, including its current re-tender for the TSS. They also ask that \u201cany government supplier involved in systemic failures, like Fujitsu, demonstrate meaningful remediation and cooperation with compensation processes as a condition of continued commercial engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not only about money,\u201d the letter added. \u201cIt is about justice, accountability, and whether it is morally acceptable for Fujitsu to continue to profit from the public purse. The Post Office Horizon scandal destroyed lives. That injustice must not be compounded by the continuing awarding of lucrative government contracts to Fujitsu.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their letter, first reported by The Times, comes at an awkward time for the government, as Trade Minister Douglas Alexander embarks on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/uk-promotes-trade-industrial-strategies-in-japan-south-korea\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">four-day trip to Japan<\/a> to boost trade ties.<\/p>\n<p>A government spokesperson said: \u201cWe have been clear that those responsible for the Horizon scandal must be held to account. Fujitsu has committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Inquiry concludes. We will not hesitate to take action, where appropriate, based on the final findings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A Fujitsu spokesperson said: \u201cWe have apologised for, and deeply regret, our role in sub-postmasters\u2019 suffering. We hope for a swift resolution that ensures a just outcome for the victims. We are considering the recommendations set out by Sir Wyn in Volume One of the Inquiry\u2019s report, and are engaged with Government regarding Fujitsu\u2019s contribution to compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fujitsu is bidding for a \u00a3370 million contract to retain control of the platform, which helps businesses navigate&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[41010,802,748,6215,8514,2814,53958,2000,299,5187,1699,4884,678,2122,807,1144,7965,46027,1199,7154,53,1201,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-382892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-accountability","9":"tag-brexit","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-cooperation","12":"tag-customs","13":"tag-data","14":"tag-due-diligence","15":"tag-eu","16":"tag-europe","17":"tag-european","18":"tag-european-union","19":"tag-great-britain","20":"tag-ireland","21":"tag-japan","22":"tag-keir-starmer","23":"tag-northern-ireland","24":"tag-platforms","25":"tag-public-procurement","26":"tag-services","27":"tag-software","28":"tag-technology","29":"tag-trade","30":"tag-uk","31":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115113028792496290","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}