Nationwide police investigation into Fujitsu’s role in the Post Office scandal faces conflict of interest challenges, due to the IT supplier’s contract with the lead investigating police force.
A freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed that through a subcontract in the Metropolitan Police’s deal with DHL Supply Chain, to provide Met police officers with uniforms, Fujitsu supplies and supports the online ordering platform, known as Uniform Hub.
The subcontract creates a potential conflict of interest as the Met Police lead the nationwide Post Office Horizon scandal criminal probe, known as Operation Olympos, which includes investigating Fujitsu and former employees.
Operation Olympos was set up in the aftermath of the broadcast of the Post Office scandal-based drama, Mr Bates versus the Post Office, and the public anger that followed.
A legal source told Computer Weekly this creates “at least” a potential conflict of interest.
The Metropolitan Police Service said it has an indirect commercial arrangement with the company Fujitsu, adding: “This is not confirmation of any corporate entities under criminal investigation…”
According to the FOI request response, through the Uniform Hub contract, Fujitsu captures, stores and processes human resources (HR) files that contain information relating to officers.
The data includes personal and employment details such as employee number and user ID, name, email address, gender, last hire date and termination date if relevant. It also includes information on what Met police officers are working on, the start date of current assignments, rank bands and job roles.
The contract was first signed in December 2015 and is due to end in March 2027, with a tender process underway for a new contract starting in April 2027. The contract was worth £123m.
A legal source told Computer Weekly: “This situation creates at least a potential conflict of interest for the police force, and possibly an actual conflict depending on how the relationships are managed. The legal issues centre on impartiality, bias, misconduct and procurement law. The force must take active steps to identify, declare and manage the conflict to uphold legal and ethical standards.”
In its FOI response, the Met Police said the National Uniform Managed Service (NUMS) supplier conducts regular independent audits on sub-contractors, along with carrying out independent IT health checks annually or in response to a significant incident or change to the Uniform Hub. Fujitsu, as the NUMS supplier’s IT partner, is a Police Assured Secure Facility (PASF) approved and subject to re-certification every three years, it added.
Separately to Operation Olympos, but in relation to the Post Office scandal, former Fujitsu staff have been under investigation since 2020. As Computer Weekly revealed that year, the Met Police began assessing evidence of potential perjury offences committed by Fujitsu staff in criminal trials of subpostmasters prosecuted for accounting errors caused by a computer system.
In November 2021, it opened a criminal investigation into Fujitsu staff who gave evidence in trials of subpostmasters. These were tech workers Gareth Jenkins and Anne Chambers.
But Operation Olympus widens investigations into the action of Fujitsu and its staff. In an update on Operation Olympos in December 2024, Met Police commander Stephen Clayman, who is leading the investigation, said police will “go where the evidence takes” them, with no person or crime out of the scope of the investigation.
In June 2025, Police said they were investigating 45 people in relation to potential crimes committed in the scandal, with seven formally identified as suspects.
The sub-contract with the Met Police is an example of Fujitsu carrying out public sector business under the public radar. In January 2024, soon after the ITV drama about the Post Office Scandal was broadcast, and following the public backlash, Fujitsu made a gesture to UK government to pause bidding on government contracts. But there has been anger among the public and politicians as the firm has continued to win lucrative business.
In April 2024, Computer Weekly revealed that Fujitsu instructed its staff how to work around its own rules, with going through partners seen as a valid approach. The company’s then head of public sector, Dave Riley, told staff that the current Cabinet Office position at the time, where it bid with a partner, meant that it was up to the partner to decide if they are comfortable to work with Fujitsu, so not “currently subject to the gateway checks of us bidding”, he said.
The Post Office scandal was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to the accounting software (see timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal below).
