The UK head of Fujitsu Services Limited, the company behind the Post Office’s disastrous Horizon IT system, has received a 50% pay rise — despite the firm still refusing to quantify compensation for hundreds of wrongly convicted sub-postmasters.
The Japan-owned technology giant handed its best-paid UK executive — believed to be Anwen Owen, Fujitsu’s UK chief — £591,000 in total pay for the year to March 2025, up from £388,000 the previous year.
Corporate filings show that Owen, who joined the board in 2022, was previously a senior government official, serving as head of engagement at HM Treasury between 2010 and 2012.
The revelation comes as Fujitsu continues to face widespread criticism for its role in what has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British corporate history.
Fujitsu’s annual report, filed last week, also reveals the company faces a £4 million claim for damages brought by a sub-postmaster on 10 July 2025 — believed to be Lee Castleton, a former postmaster from Bridlington who was portrayed in ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the BAFTA-winning dramatisation that reignited public outrage over the scandal.
The company stated that “it is not yet possible to predict the outcome” of the case.
The Horizon IT inquiry, led by Sir Wyn Williams, continues to investigate the Post Office’s use of Fujitsu’s flawed accounting software, which led to more than 900 wrongful prosecutions between 1999 and 2015.
Of those, over 230 sub-postmasters were jailed, and at least 13 are believed to have taken their own lives after being accused of theft or fraud that they did not commit.
Despite the ongoing scandal, Fujitsu’s UK business remains highly profitable. The company generated over £1 billion in revenue last year, primarily through government contracts.
The firm has paused bidding for new public sector work while the Horizon inquiry continues but remains a major supplier to UK departments.
In total, the company’s annual wage bill reached £500 million for its 5,800 employees, with average salaries rising 4.2% to £84,135.
Fujitsu’s Japanese parent company injected a further £80 million of capital into its UK arm last year, following a £200 million cash injection the year before, underscoring the scale of financial pressure amid mounting legal and reputational challenges.
Lord James Arbuthnot, the former Conservative MP who has long campaigned on behalf of wronged sub-postmasters, condemned the pay increase as “bizarre” and “deeply inappropriate.”
“The management of Fujitsu in the UK has been absolutely disastrous for Fujitsu itself and for Japanese business in general,” he said.
“It has shown itself to be unethical, dishonest, and completely uncaring about the disaster it has brought to the sub-postmasters and the cost to the taxpayer.
For some reason, which I cannot understand, the government still continues to think that it is a fit and proper organisation with which to do business. It is not — and it ought not to have any government contracts at all.”
His comments add to growing pressure on the government to ban Fujitsu from future procurement processes until its financial contribution to the compensation scheme is confirmed.
The government has said it will pursue Fujitsu for its share of compensation costs, which could total hundreds of millions of pounds once final settlements are reached.
A Fujitsu spokeswoman declined to comment on executive pay or ongoing legal cases.
She said: “We remain committed to providing our full co-operation to the inquiry as Sir Wyn Williams prepares his final report.
We continue to engage with the UK Government regarding Fujitsu’s contribution to compensation.”
The company insists it has already implemented internal reforms and strengthened governance processes, but critics argue its leadership has yet to demonstrate genuine accountability for the systemic failures that destroyed lives.
The Horizon case remains one of the darkest chapters in modern British business history — exposing the devastating human impact of digital failure, and prompting questions about corporate ethics, state procurement, and oversight of technology suppliers.
As Fujitsu’s top executive enjoys a near £600,000 salary, the long road to justice — and adequate compensation for those wrongfully accused — continues.
