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When will Paula Vennells give evidence to the Post Office inquiry?
Vennells ran the Post Office while it routinely denied there was a problem with its Horizon IT system.
Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells "knew the Post Office was in trouble" but "just carried it on", said one of the victims of the scandal, ahead of Vennells' appearance before the inquiry.
Jo Hamilton, a victim of the scandal who was falsely accused of stealing £36,000 from the Post Office branch she ran in South Warnborough, Hampshire, told news agency PA that she was "intrigued" to know what Vennells would say this week.
“If I was her, I wouldn’t be in that position in the first place, but if I was her I would just put my hands up now and say ‘do you know what, we’re all in it up to our necks, I’m really sorry and this is what happened’ and then take it on the chin," Hamilton said.
Vennells is due to give evidence for three days starting on Wednesday, 23 May.
Questioning is likely to draw on claims made about her during the inquiry, including that she "interjected" to stop prosecutions – a claim made by a former Post Office lawyer – and that she did not want to use the word “bugs” when referencing the faulty Horizon system in an “Orwellian” move to sound “non-emotive”.
What has happened to Paula Vennells?
In February, Vennells forfeited her CBE following the fallout over the Horizon IT scandal which led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters.
Vennells, who ran the Post Office while it routinely denied there was a problem with its Horizon system, was appointed a CBE in December 2018. She stepped down from her Post Office role the following year.
She announced she would hand back her CBE in January. Pressure to do so – including a petition signed by 1.2 million people – intensified after an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, brought the widespread miscarriage of justice back into the spotlight.
Vennells is an ordained Anglican priest in the Church of England. In February, the Archbishop of Canterbury said more questions should have been asked about the involvement of Vennells in the church.
She has been mentioned numerous times during the inquiry so far, including a claim from the chairman of the mediation scheme for people who believed they had been wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office that he repeatedly told Vennells that cases against subpostmasters “didn’t make sense”.
She has said: “I continue to support and focus on co-operating with the inquiry and expect to be giving evidence in the coming months.
“I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the subpostmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.
“I now intend to continue to focus on assisting the inquiry and will not make any further public comment until it has concluded.”
What is the Post Office inquiry?
More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the government-owned organisation and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
The inquiry into this scandal, led by retired high court judge Sir Wyn Williams, aims to "establish a clear account of the implementation and failings of the system over its lifetime (a period of over 20 years).
"It will also consider whether Post Office Limited has learned the lessons and embedded the cultural change necessary."
It has been running since February 2022 and is set to finish in September.
It comes as hundreds of subpostmasters are awaiting compensation despite the government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.
