Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a ￡600,000 compensation payment (Image: Getty)

       An MP yesterday insisted it was "criminal" that the IT firm at the heart of the Horizon scandal had known there were problems at an early stage and failed to act.

       Tory Marco Longhi said he was "staggered" sub-postmasters were prosecuted when the accounting software was known to be faulty.

       It came as Fujitsu bosses said they were "truly sorry" and admitted the firm has a "moral obligation" to pay out compensation to the victims of the scandal.

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       Paul Patterson, the company's Europe director, said Fujitsu gave evidence to the Post Office that was used to prosecute innocent managers.

       He added that the Post Office knew about "bugs and errors" in its Horizon accountancy software early on. More than 700 sub-postmasters received criminal convictions after the IT giant's faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing from their branches.

       Mr Longhi, MP for Dudley North, said: "I am staggered that Fujitsu knew early on that their software was faulty.

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       "They subsequently allowed innocent people to be wronged in the most awful way. It appears criminal to me.

       "This further raises the issue of what ministers and the Director of Public Prosecutions knew and why, in the face of such numbers, they did not seek to scrutinise and challenge."

       Takahito Tokita, the global chief executive of Fujitsu, has also apologised. He told the BBC in Davos, Switzerland: "This is a big issue, which Fujitsu takes very seriously."

       When asked if he would apologise, he added: "Yes, of course. Fujitsu has apologised for the impact on the postmasters' lives and their families."

       Mr Patterson's apology came during a grilling by MPs, when he appeared alongside Post Office boss Nick Read.

       The role played by Japanese giant Fujitsu has come under the spotlight, with Mr Patterson opening the hearing by offering an apology for the "appalling miscarriage of justice" suffered by sub-postmasters.

       He told the Business and Trade Committee: "We were involved from the very start. We did have bugs and errors in the system. And we did help the Post Office in their prosecutions of sub-postmasters. For that, we are truly sorry."

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       PM Rishi Sunak has announced that the wrongly prosecuted in England and Wales could have their names cleared by the end of the year under fast-tracked legislation after growing pressure to take action.

       Those whose convictions are quashed are eligible for a ￡600,000 compensation payment, while Mr Sunak offered ￡75,000 ligible sation ffered" sub-postmasters involved in group legal action against the Post Office.

       Lawyers have said that hundreds more victims could now come forward after being caught up in the scandal.

       Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, whose story was at the centre of the recent ITV drama Mr centre M

       Bates vs The Post Office, was among a group of campaigners to hit out at the "madness" of delays at processing compensation claims yesterday.

       Mr Bates told MPs that compensation was "bogged down". He said his own claims process was beset with delays.

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       He added: "I think it was 53 days before they asked three very simple questions. It's madness, the whole thing is madness. And there's no transparency behind it, which is even more frustrating. We do not know what's happening to these cases once they disappear in there."

       Mr Patterson told MPs that there was a "moral obligation for the company to contribute" to compensation.

       He said: "It's also important that the inquiry deals with these very complex matters. In that context, absolutely we have a part to play and to contribute to the redress - I think this is the word that Mr Bates used - the redress fund for the sub-postmasters."

       In response, the Prime Minister's spokesman said: "We agree that those who are found to be responsible must be held accountable, whether that's legally or financially." But he declined to "prejudge the work of the inquiry".

       Mr Read, who took charge of the Post Office in September 2019, insisted the organisation has now drastically changed.

       He blamed a "culture of denial" for the company dragging its feet on compensation, as he also appeared to concede the Post Office could face liabilities from the scandal of close to ￡1billion.

       Mr Read admitted it is possible some of the money which vanished from the accounts of branch managers could have ended up in the "hefty" remuneration packages for executives.

       Meanwhile, it has been revealed more than 10 million people watched the final episode of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, making it one of the most-viewed TV dramas of the decade.

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       The four-part series was broadcast by ITV over four nights at the start of the year.

       An average of 10.3 million watched the concluding episode.

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