UK Post Office to extend its contract with Fujitsu for controversial Horizon IT system

The UK Post Office is set to extend its contract with Fujitsu for the controversial Horizon IT system for a further five years, and £180 million ($230m) and has requested £1bn ($1.3bn) of extra public funding to get the program to replace Horizon running again.

Should Fujitsu exit the deal, the Post Office will either need a new supplier or to manage Horizon itself, which it claims is not "economically viable." There is currently no contingency plan in place. While the Post Office has requested £1bn, the DBT has said that this will require a full business case and Treasury approval. An initial amount of £184m ($235m) has been requested to see the project through from July 2024 to March 2026, which the Treasury has been asked to approve in June.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “Working in collaboration with postmasters, we are continuing to drive forward development and expand our pilots for the introduction of a new system that is fit for the future across our 11,500 branches. We are determined to get this right and with such a large network, careful planning and extensive testing are of overriding importance ahead of full roll-out.

"We are also investing to ensure the successful operation of our existing technology, including extending commercial relationships with suppliers where this is required, as this will ensure postmasters and customers have continuity whilst we develop the new system.”