Closing summary …
We will be wrapping this blog up shortly. Here are the main political headlines of the day …
The owner of Port Talbot steelworks has confirmed that the plant’s two blast furnaces will shut down, in what unions have described as an “absolute disgrace” that will cost up to 2,800 jobs directly and many more in the south Wales community. Rishi Sunak insisted that the government’s investment showed it was “absolutely committed” to British steelmaking, but Keir Starmer is urging the government to take another look at the plan proposed by steel unions that would have saved thousands of jobs
A Fujitsu boss condemned the “shameful” editing of witness statements and said the company had “clearly let society down” while appearing before the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry. He also offered an apology for what he described as an “appalling miscarriage of justice”.
Downing Street added to an earlier Sunak statement that he was “determined” to get the Rwanda bill through parliament “as quickly as possible” by saying it was “confident” Rwanda would implement improved measures into its asylum system in time for a new treaty with the UK being ratified by parliament.
The Home Office has hired an aircraft hangar and aeroplane body to train security staff on how to deport people, as the UK government increases the number of people it forcibly removes each year.
Sunak added to speculation on pre-election tax cuts by saying there was “more to come” if voters stuck with the Conservatives. Speaking to broadcasters during his visit to Hampshire, Sunak said a 2p cut to the main rate of national insurance that came into force this month had been a “tax cut for 27 million people in work”. Inflation unexpectedly jumped on Wednesday, and this morning figures revealed retailers in Great Britain suffered a dire Christmas, with shops recording the biggest fall in monthly sales since closing during the pandemic.
The defence secretary, Grant Shapps, posted on social media that yesterday he visited HMS Diamond, which is deployed in the Red Sea and has been one of the vessels involved in UK strikes against Yemen’s Houthis.
Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of “a shocking betrayal of the people of Scotland” as it emerged that the former first minister, along with other senior ministers and health officials, deleted all their WhatsApp messages related to the Covid pandemic.
Three victims of IRA bombings in London and Manchester can sue Gerry Adams in a personal capacity for damages, a high court judge has ruled.
Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he will introduce “pragmatic, appropriate and limited” legislation to try to break the political deadlock there which has been preventing Stormont from meeting since May 2022.
The European court of human rights (ECHR) has issued a press release stating that Ireland has lodged an inter-state application against the UK over the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.
Churn in the UK’s civil service is at its highest level since 2010 aside from its post-pandemic peak, with almost 12% of Whitehall staff changing department or leaving the government workforce in the year to the end of March, according to an analysis.
Thank you for reading today. I will be back with you bright and early on Monday.
Key points from Fujitsu CEO appearance at Post Office Horizon IT inquiry
Today’s session of the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry was dedicated to hearing evidence from Fujitsu’s Europe chief, Paul Patterson. Here are the key points that emerged …
Patterson said it is “shameful and appalling” that courts hearing cases against Post Office operators over missing funds were not told of 29 bugs identified as early as 1999 in the accounting system it built.
When bugs were acknowledged, witness statements from Fujitsu staff due to be heard in court were then edited by the Post Office as it sought to maintain the line that the system was working well as it pursued innocent people through the courts. Patterson agreed that both organisations had failed the accused.
Patterson said Fujitsu had “let society down” and that the company would contribute to a fund to compensate “victims of this crime” although he admitted to not having met a single Post Office operator as he had not believed it appropriate.
Patterson said there was “evidence” that Fujitsu employees had a “don’t share with the Post Office” approach to a document chronicling the known errors in the system.
He said the “vast majority” of bugs, errors and defects (BEDs) in the Horizon system were shared with the Post Office contemporaneously. But Post Office operators were not informed about known errors nor provided with the accessible raw data. Patterson admitted that Fujitsu’s witness statements in support of Post Office cases in the criminal and civil courts were misleading.
Fujitsu had previously described its audit data as “gold standard”. Pressed on this, Patterson responded: “No, it wasn’t.”
Patterson, the most senior Fujitsu Services Ltd director, who started his career at the company in sales, had opened his evidence with an apology to the men and women pursued by the Post Office with the assistance of his company.
Patterson said: “To the subpostmasters and their families, we apologise, Fujitsu apologises and is sorry for our part in this appalling miscarriage of justice. We are determined to support this inquiry and get to the truth, wherever it lies, and at the conclusion of the inquiry and the guidance from this inquiry engage with government on suitable contributions and redress to the subpostmasters and their families.”
You can read Daniel Boffey’s full report on the day’s proceedings here: Post Office IT scandal – Fujitsu boss condemns ‘shameful’ editing of witness statements
Updated
