Paula Vennells is due to give evidence to the inquest for three days from this morning. Activists are calling on the ordained priest to take responsibility for widespread failures and a cover-up in the Horizon scandal.
From James Sillars, business reporter @SkyNewsBiz
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 1:38 a.m., United Kingdom
A victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal has told Sky News that former boss Paula Vennells must come clean in her evidence before the statutory inquiry.
Chirag Sidhpura, a former subpostmaster who became one of the public champions of justice because of his own treatment at the post office, said he expected a “culture of denial” and “lies” during Ms. Vennells’ three days. of the planned evidence.
She must appear before the examination later in the morning.
The 65-year-old, who was head of the Post from 2012 to 2019, will speak publicly about the events for the first time in almost a decade.
While she has since acknowledged subpostmasters were wrongly accused and prosecuted over errors in the Horizon accounting system under her watch, the investigation will aim to find out what she knew and when.
In 2015 she told a committee of MPs: “We are a company that really cares about the people who work for us. If there had been miscarriages of justice, it would have been really important for me and the Post to expose them.” . Since the investigation has already been completed, we have no evidence of this yet.”
Chirag Sidhpura: “I had breakdowns”
The focus is on the victims scandal I have a different opinion.
Postal prosecutors were pointed out errors with Horizon just days before the trial and eventual conviction of Sub-Postmaster Seema Misra in 2010 – before Ms Vennells had taken over.
There is further evidence – in the form of recordings leaked to Sky News – that suggests Ms Vennells had been informed as early as May 2013 that Horizon operator Fujitsu had remote access to the system.
On Tuesday, ITV News reported that in an October 2013 email she described possible wrongful convictions of sub-postmasters as “very concerning”.
This was written more than a year before the company stopped prosecuting.
Chirag Sidhpura’s experience
Chirag had written to Ms Vennells personally about his own case in 2017. A week later his contract was terminated.
To avoid prosecution, he decided to hand over more than £57,000. He lost not only his business, but also his home and his sanity.
Chirag said of Ms Vennells’ evidence: “I think there will still be a culture of denial and lying: ‘I don’t remember, I don’t remember’.”
“It will be shown to you in black and white that you did this, you made these decisions. Just get along.”
The ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office put Ms Vennells, whose career has included stints at companies such as L’Oreal and the NHS, in the spotlight.
She is also an Anglican priest.
Read more:
Who is Paula Vennell?
The most important questions that the head of the post office has to answer – and why her answers are important
The Post Office Horizon scandal explained
Former postal worker accused of lying
A lawyer’s perspective
Paul Marshall, a lawyer for the victims, told Sky News that Ms Vennells’ evidence represented an opportunity for “confession”, claiming she was at the head of a post-“cult” that had a corporate inability to accept mistakes .
“In a sense, she was, or became, the leader of an organization that was almost indistinguishable from a cult.
“There was a belief system in which anything that did not conform to this cult and its beliefs had to be either destroyed or excluded and removed.”
Ms Vennells has agreed to cooperate fully with the investigation and, like all witnesses, must take an oath to tell the truth before giving evidence.
A statement released earlier this year said: “I continue to support the investigation and focus on cooperating with them. I expect to be able to testify in the coming months.”
“I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the subpostmasters and their families whose lives have been devastated by false accusations and prosecution as a result of the Horizon system.”
“I now intend to remain focused on supporting the investigation and will not make any further public comments until it is completed.”
Watch Paula Vennells being questioned at the inquest live on Sky News on Wednesday. Watch Sky News live here and on YouTube or on TV on Freeview 233, Sky 501, Virgin 603 and BT 313. You can also follow the latest news on the Sky News website and app.