Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells to hand back CBE
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has said she will hand back her CBE with immediate effect amid the ongoing Horizon IT scandal.
The former chief executive, who ran the Post Office while it routinely denied there was a problem with its Horizon IT system, was appointed a CBE in December 2018.
Vennells said she had “listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect”.
She added: “I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.
Demands for her to return the honour reached a crescendo after ITV’s aired its drama starring Toby Jones – Mr Bates vs The Post Office – highlighting the widespread miscarriage of justice.
More than 700 sub-postmasters and mistresses were convicted after faulty accounting software, Horizon, created by Fujitsu, made it appear as though money had gone missing from their tills.
A petition calling for Vennells to be stripped of the gong on campaign website 38 Degrees reached 1.2m signatures this week.
Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said this week that the Prime Minister would “strongly support” the Honours Forfeiture Committee if they chose to look into removing the award.
In a statement, Vennells said: “I continue to support and focus on co-operating with the Inquiry and expect to be giving evidence in the coming months.
“I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the Inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence.
“I am, however, aware of the calls from subpostmasters and others to return my CBE.
“I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.
“I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters 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.”
It comes as justice secretary Alex Chalk met with judges over plans to speed up appeals against wrongful convictions – as more than 100 new potential victims reportedly came forward to lawyers.
The Met Police is also investigating “potential fraud offences” in relation to the Post Office’s private prosecutions.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for the Post Office to be stripped of its ability to launch private prosecutions and argued it should be transferred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
More to follow.