Committee publication · Correspondence · 6 January 2026
Letter from the Post Office relating to the 2006 Post Office-Fujitsu contract document highlighted by the media, 30 December 2025
From: Business and Trade Committee
Inquiry: Post Office Horizon scandal: Justice for sub-postmasters
Summary
Post Office chair Nigel Railton writes to the Business and Trade Committee chair ahead of a scheduled appearance, providing context on a 2006 Post Office-Fujitsu contract document (FUJ00079994) disclosed to the Horizon IT Inquiry and recently highlighted by media. The document concerns reconciliation services and incident management procedures for the Horizon system. Railton confirms the document was disclosed to the Inquiry, shared with Core Participants in December 2022, published in December 2025, and previously disclosed in 2018 litigation proceedings.
Key findings
- The 2006 contract document (FUJ00079994) requires Fujitsu to provide reconciliation services including incident management procedures for investigating and resolving Horizon system incidents
- The reconciliation service has been part of the Fujitsu contract since 1999 and remains in place today
- The document was disclosed to the Horizon IT Inquiry by Fujitsu, shared with Core Participants on 23 December 2022, and published on the Inquiry website on 11 December 2025
- Post Office acknowledges that commentary has raised serious questions about what was known within Post Office and Fujitsu in 2006, which fall within the Inquiry's terms of reference
- The document was previously disclosed by Post Office in 2018 during group litigation proceedings and cited in witness statements by Paul Patterson and Simon Oldnall
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Nigel Railton, Liam Byrne MP, Sir Wyn, Paul Patterson, Simon Oldnall, Post Office Limited, Fujitsu, Horizon IT Inquiry
Notable line
“The commentary over recent days has raised concerns about what was known within Post Office and Fujitsu in 2006. These are serious and important questions.”
Key Quotes
“Specifically, it requires Fujitsu to provide a reconciliation service, including incident management procedures required to investigate, report and resolve reconciliation and business incidents that may arise on Horizon.”
“The commentary over recent days has raised concerns about what was known within Post Office and Fujitsu in 2006. These are serious and important questions.”
“… today's Post Office leadership is working transparently with Sir Wyn's Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP Chair of the Business and Trade Committee House of Commons London SW1A 0AA 30 December 2025 Post Office Ltd …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗