Escher, which supplied middleware in the Post Office Horizon system, is eyeing up the contract to replace the controversial software.

The Post Office began rolling out the legacy Horizon IT system for accounting in 1999, which, along with its two subsequent upgrades, contributed to one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

A first tranche of the public inquiry’s final report into the scandal laid bare the devastating consequences for victims and their families.