HMRC’s Shameless Dance with Fujitsu: A Betrayal of Trust and Competence

 

You’d think that after Fujitsu’s software disasters led to hundreds of innocent subpostmasters being hounded, bankrupted, and jailed, HMRC might pause and reflect before handing over more taxpayer cash to this disgraced firm. But no—apparently, competence and accountability are optional when you’re a government department with a bottomless chequebook.

 

Let’s set the scene. Fujitsu, the company that built the glitch-ridden Horizon system, has spent years dodging meaningful responsibility for the chaos it unleashed on the Post Office. The faulty software falsely showed cash shortfalls, triggering a witch hunt that ruined lives while Fujitsu pocketed profits. After public outrage—sparked in part by a TV drama that finally forced the nation to pay attention—Fujitsu made a grand gesture in early 2024, claiming it would “pause” bidding on government contracts. 

 

A noble retreat, right? 

 

A chance to atone for its sins? 

 

Don’t be so naive. 

 

Just yesterday, on March 13, 2025, Computer Weekly dropped a bombshell: Fujitsu staff working on HMRC contracts are staging a 22-day strike over pay disputes, revealing that not only is Fujitsu still deeply embedded in HMRC’s operations, but it’s raking in so much cash that the tax agency has become a veritable “cash cow” for the firm. So much for that pause.

 

This strike—set to run from March 21 to April 23—lays bare the grotesque reality. Fujitsu workers at HMRC, represented by the Public and Commercial Services Union, are furious. Why? Because while Fujitsu reports “large profits” from its HMRC contracts, it’s offering these employees pay rises that don’t even keep pace with inflation. 

 

Meanwhile, their in-house HMRC colleagues snag significantly better deals. It’s a stark illustration of Fujitsu’s priorities: squeeze the workers, milk the government, and laugh all the way to the bank. And HMRC? They’re complicit, happily funnelling public money into this dysfunctional mess while Fujitsu’s track record festers like an open wound.

 

Let’s not mince words: HMRC’s decision to keep Fujitsu in the fold is a slap in the face to every subpostmaster who suffered under Horizon’s lies. It’s not just tone-deaf—it’s a deliberate choice to ignore a scandal that shattered lives. Fujitsu’s pledge to step back from government contracts was clearly a PR stunt, a flimsy tissue waved to placate an angry public. Yet here we are, in 2025, with HMRC still tethered to a company that can’t even treat its own staff decently, let alone deliver reliable systems. If Fujitsu’s HMRC work is anything like its Post Office debacle, taxpayers should brace for chaos—missing tax records, botched calculations, and who knows what else. HMRC’s blind faith in this tarnished firm isn’t just reckless; it’s a betrayal of the public it’s meant to serve.

 

The numbers tell their own damning story. Back in April 2022, HMRC handed Fujitsu a £500 million contract extension, even as the Horizon scandal’s fallout grew louder. Now, with the strike news, we see the fruits of that relationship: a workforce so fed up they’re walking out for nearly a month, and a contractor so flush with HMRC cash it can afford to shrug off its promises. Fujitsu’s “pause” on bidding was never a retreat—it was a sleight of hand, a way to keep the gravy train rolling while the spotlight dimmed. And HMRC, rather than cutting ties with this toxic partner, has doubled down, proving it cares more about corporate convenience than public trust.

 

What’s the excuse, HMRC? 

 

That Fujitsu’s too entrenched to replace? 

 

That the sunk costs are too high? 

 

Spare us!

 

The real cost is in the erosion of faith—faith in a tax system that can’t even pick competent partners, faith in a government that rewards failure with fat contracts. Fujitsu’s role in the Post Office scandal should’ve been a death knell for its public sector work. Instead, HMRC has propped it up, turning a blind eye to the past and a deaf ear to the present. This strike is just the latest symptom of a rotten arrangement. It’s time to rip up the contracts, hold Fujitsu to account, and stop treating taxpayers like fools. Anything less is an insult.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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