Britain blacklists 'high-risk' IT outsourcers

The British Government has reportedly banned two IT companies from its future tenders, as part of a wider review of outsourcing contracts across the public sector.

The Financial Times reported that the British Cabinet Office had blacklisted Fujitsu and another unnamed IT firm under an initiative led by recently appointed government chief procurement officer Bill Crothers.

Crothers said his new approach would “allow past performance to be taken into account for the first time when a company is bidding for a fresh tender”, the Financial Times reported.

Fujitsu had reportedly been deemed “too ‘high risk’ to take on new public sector deals”, after a failed £895 million project to establish e-health records in the south of England.

The British Department of Health terminated the contract in 2008. Fujitsu subsequently sued the department for £700 million, sparking a multi-year legal battle.

The Cabinet Office also planned to review the performance of Olympics security contractor G4S under the new outsourcing initiative.