FOI release

Annex A: Due diligence on Simon Blagden

Published 8 July 2024

Annex A: Due diligence on Simon Blagden which was considered when responding to the original Private Eye media query

This document is an extract of the due diligence that officials conducted on Simon Blagden in relation to his application for the appointment to be chair of Building Digital UK. This due diligence was shared with and approved by DCMS ministers prior to Simon’s appointment.

Simon Blagden Due Diligence

1. Simon Blagden has applied to be Chair of BDUK and was shortlisted for interview by the Advisory Assessment Panel.
2. Simon is strongly supported by No10.
3. Simon was previously Non-Executive Chair of Fujitsu in the UK from 2005-2019.

Post Office

1. The period of Simon’s tenure at Fujitsu overlaps significantly with the Horizon Post Office scandal - when Fujitsu supplied faulty Horizon accounting software to the Post Office, which resulted in the prosecution of 736 sub-postmasters between 2000 and 2014.
2. Following review and legal challenge, 72 of these convictions have been overturned so far, and the Post Office have settled with 555 other claimants.
3. An independent inquiry is ongoing into the Horizon scandal, which is investigating Fujitsu and the Post Office’s roles in these events. The inquiry terms of reference state that it will ‘[obtain] all available relevant evidence from Post Office Ltd, Fujitsu, BEIS and UKGI to establish a clear account of 1) the implementation and failings of Horizon over its lifecycle and 2) Post Office Ltd’s use of information from Horizon when taking action against persons alleged to be responsible for shortfalls.’
4. BEIS, who hold responsibility for government engagement with the inquiry, have confirmed that Fujitsu will receive significant scrutiny. Individuals linked with the company are expected to be called to interview over the coming eight months. It is possible that those involved at a senior level within those organisations listed may be looked at by the public and the media as targets for blame and consequence.
5. It is unclear at this stage the extent to which Fujitsu employees worked directly to the Post Office, or how much oversight the Fujitsu board will have had. These issues will likely be explored by the inquiry.
6. We cannot prejudge the outcomes of this inquiry. It is not yet known who may still be called to give evidence in the inquiry, who was involved in the situation itself, nor which individuals may be held responsible upon reporting.
7. Although originally due to report in Autumn 2022, due to postponements in hearings it is likely that the inquiry will not report until at least 2023.

Clarifications

1. On the Post Office situation, Simon said that it is important to be clear that he was Chairman of the Fujitsu legal entity which was Fujitsu (Telecoms) UK Ltd and this is a separate legal entity from Fujitsu (Servies) Ltd. His understanding is that the Services Sensitive business is the one which was engaged with providing services to the Post Office on these matters, not the telecoms business.
2. He said that he has not been asked to the Post Office Horizon inquiry. He said that his tenure at Fujitsu post dated the situations at Post Office which he understood to be in the very early 2000s.
3. He was Non Executive Chair of the telecoms legal entity and the Post Office issue was never raised during his tenure until very late (e.g. when there were prosecutions in the 2010s). Sensitive: He said he needed to be a bit careful about what he said as it was possible there would be further civil prosecutions of Fujitsu employees who were directly involved. He noted the whole situation was horrific.
4. SS said that this was helpful to hear his perspective and the specifics about his description of his specific role. She said that ministers would understandably want to take a view on this issue and how it may play out as they were considering options.

Simon Blagden’s Confirmation Email:

As requested in the email below, you asked me to explain my role as non-executive Chair of Fujitsu Telecommunications (Europe) Ltd, setting out my perspectives on that role and any interface with the Post Office Horizon statutory inquiry which is currently on-going. Fujitsu Telecommunications (Europe) Ltd, the company I was non-executive Chair of, was responsible for all Fujitsu’s telecoms and networks business across both private and public sectors, in the UK and internationally. The company did not have any business or contractual relationship with the Post Office. The Post Office Horizon IT system was managed by a separate company, Fujitsu Services Ltd of which I was neither an officer or director and as such I did not attend their board meetings. I never attended any internal meeting at Fujitsu where the Post Office Horizon IT project was discussed. I left Fujitsu Telecommunications (Europe) Ltd and resigned as a director in June 2019. I have not been asked to provide any information to the on-going statutory inquiry on the Post Office Horizon IT system or to any other body.

DCMS due diligence

1. As part of the pre-interview fireside chats, Susannah Storey asked SB on 31st May 2022 about (a) his political donations (b) the Fujitsu links to the Post Office.