Disgraced former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has been urged to tell the truth about her role in the Horizon IT scandal after she bowed to intense public pressure and returned her CBE.
The former chief executive said she was “truly sorry” for the devastation caused to staff who were falsely accused of fraud, amid outrage that saw 1.2 million people demand in an online petition that she hand back her honour.
Campaigners and MPs welcomed her decision to give up the award – but said Ms Vennells still had “questions to answer” about her role in the scandal at the public inquiry, which resumes this week.
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Justice secretary Alex Chalk revealed that Rishi Sunak is actively considering an emergency bill to quash all 800 Horizon scandal convictions at once.
No 10 said the judiciary had not challenged the government’s proposal to overturn the convictions, after crunch meetings were held on Tuesday – and suggested that a legislative plan would be announced in the coming days.
It comes as:
In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Vennells said she was “truly sorry for the devastation caused” to staff and their families “whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted”.
She said she had “listened” to calls from campaigners for the honour to be revoked after the ITV drama thrust the scandal into the spotlight, adding that her CBE would be returned with immediate effect.
Ms Vennells said: “I continue to support and focus on cooperating with the inquiry and expect to be giving evidence in the coming months.”
Convicted subpostmasters said they were “glad” the petition had worked. Former subpostmistress Jo Hamilton said it was a “shame it took just a million people to cripple her conscience”.
Ms Hamilton, who was wrongfully convicted in 2008 of stealing thousands of pounds from the village shop she ran in Hampshire, said: “It shows the people have spoken – about everything, really.”
Varchas Patel, whose father Vipin was wrongfully convicted of fraud in 2011, added: “Now the big question for me is who gave her that CBE?”
No 10 responded to Ms Vennells’ move, saying: “We think that is obviously the right decision.” Mr Sunak had said on Monday that he would “strongly support” any decision by the official body that reviews honours to revoke her CBE.
Ms Vennells was chief executive of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019. The public inquiry – which reconvenes on Thursday – has already been told that she sent a company-wide “Horizon defence piece” as early as 2009, while serving as a senior executive, in an effort to defend the IT system.
Justice secretary Alex Chalk says an emergency bill is being considered
Ms Vennells and other board members have also been accused of taking the decision in 2015 to sack independent investigators Second Sight, who had been looking into what had gone wrong with the Horizon software.
Labour MP Kevan Jones – who has campaigned on behalf of those affected by the scandal – told The Independent that Ms Vennells still had “questions to answer”, as he urged her to explain her role in the affair.
Asked if Ms Vennells’ entitlement to a Post Office pension could be re-examined if she was found to have wronged the subpostmasters, Mr Jones said: “Let’s see what the inquiry brings out. The government needs to explain some things. Why was she given a post at the Cabinet Office?”
Senior Tory Sir David Davis told The Independent that the matter of bonus and pension payments awarded to Ms Vennells and other executives may have to be looked at – but only after the inquiry and police investigation have finished.
Rishi Sunak welcomes the decision by Paula Vennells to return her CBE, says No 10
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey says the Post Office fed him a ‘conspiracy of lies’
