Andrew Bridgen's constituent 'framed' in Post Office scandal
An MP who was one of the first politicians to raise the alarm about the Post Office scandal which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrong-convicted and imprisoned for fraud has alleged that the IT company involved deliberately targeted one of the victims.
North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen, who first raised the issue in 2012 more than a decade ago, used Parliamentary privilege to raise the case of one of his constituents Michael Rudkin, former chairman of the National Federation of sub-postmasters.
Recounting a shocking tale, he said: "Michael Rudkin visited Fujitsu’s headquarters in Bracknell and inadvertently witnessed IT engineers there secretly altering the accounts of sub-postmasters in Horizon.
"When the managers at Fujitsu realised what my constituent had seen, they ejected him from the building, and he travelled back to his post office in Ibstock, where his wife Susan was his office manager."
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Tony Blair pushed through the Horizon IT program (Image: Getty)
He went on: "The next morning, Mr and Mrs Rudkin were subject to an early morning raid by the Post Office’s inspectors, who declared that a ￡44,000 deficit had appeared on their computer overnight.
"Criminal convictions resulted. I never believed it was a coincidence that the Post Office found this massive deficit shortfall on my constituent’s computer the same day he uncovered what Fujitsu was doing.
"When I challenged Fujitsu, it said that Mr Rudkin had never been to its premises and it had lost the visitors’ book for the day in question.
"My constituents want to know who will be held to account for more than a decade of false incrimination and humiliation suffered by my constituents."
The Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake thought "the coincidence" was surprising as well.
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Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake (Image: Getty)
Around 700 sub-postmasters were tried as a result of faulty Horizon software with more than 200 wrongly sent to prison for alleged fraud.
Mr Bridgen's accusation suggests that there may have been a conspiracy to cover up the fault and push ahead with trials even though the company and Post Office may have been aware of the faults.
Mr Hollinrake said: "Mr Rudkin was one of the stars of the show in the dramatisation, and I am so sorry to hear what happened to him and his wife through the Post Office’s actions. It seems incredibly coincidental that those two things coincided—the visit to Fujitsu, what he discovered at that point and then what happened the next day in discovering a ￡44,000 shortfall in his accounts.
"We all now know that Fujitsu and the Post Office were able to amend the post office accounts. It seems incredibly coincidental, but also, as I said, brutal and cynical in terms of what might have happened.
"We should let Sir Wyn Williams determine exactly what has happened and who is responsible before we judge and blame. I am just as keen as the hon. Gentleman to see individuals held to account for what happened in this scandal."
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A Fujitsu spokesman said: "The current Post Office Horizon IT statutory Inquiry is examining complex events stretching back over 20 years to understand who knew what, when, and what they did with that knowledge.
"The Inquiry has reinforced the devastating impact on postmasters’ lives and that of their families, and Fujitsu has apologised for its role in their suffering.
"Fujitsu is fully committed to supporting the Inquiry in order to understand what happened and to learn from it. Out of respect for the Inquiry process, it would be inappropriate for Fujitsu to comment further at this time."
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