FOI2024-00009: Due diligence on Simon Blagden
Response to a freedom of information (FOI) request for information held about the due diligence relied on by the DSIT Press Office when responding to a media query about Simon Blagden.
Documents
Details
| Reference number | FOI2024-00009 |
|---|---|
| Date of request | 10 June 2024 |
| Date of response | 8 July 2024 |
| Outcome | Information partially disclosed |
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (the department) received the following request for information which we responded to under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA):
According to Private Eye magazine, earlier this year the press office was asked about Simon Blagden, chair of Building Digital UK, and his potential involvement in the Fujitsu/Horizon scandal. They say that DSIT responded
Simon Blagden serves as chair of Fujitsu Telecommunications from 2014 to 2019 with Post Office Horizon supplied by Fujitsu Services , a separate organisation with a separate board. The Post Office scandal was an appalling miscarriage of justice which Simon was in now way involved in”.
We now know from Paula Vennels evidence to the Horizon inquiry that this was not true, because Paula Vennels discussed Horizon with Mr Blagden. So I would like to see under FOIA, the documents that supported the Press Office response to Private Eye magazine – there should be emails or other correspondence between the DSIT Press Office and other parts of the Department that led to this response, so I would like to see the relevant documents.