Former Post Office boss quits Morrisons and Dunelm boards
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has this morning stepped down from her roles on the boards of Morrisons and Dunelm after one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in recent history.
In statements issued by the two firms, they confirmed she would step down with immediate effect.
Andrew Higginson, Morrisons chairman, said: “Paula has been an insightful, effective and hardworking non-executive director, and, on behalf of the board, I want to thank her for her significant contribution over the last five years.”
The chairman of Dunelm, Andy Harrison, said: “We respect Paula’s decision to step down from the Board and I would like to thank her for the positive contribution she has made to the business since her appointment in September 2019.”
Sky News reported last night that the two firms would announce Vennells’ departure to the market today.
The decisions were taken on Friday after 39 former postmasters who were accused of stealing money have finally had their names cleared, after a years-long battle for justice.
Vennells was the Post Office’s chief executive from 2012 and 2019, and during her tenure failed to properly investigate faults with the firm’s IT system.
Between 2000 and 2014, the Post Office prosecuted more than 700 postal workers as a result of the bug in the computer system.
Those wrongly accused spent years trying to clear their names, after convictions left them shunned by their communities and struggling to secure work.
At the Royal Courts of Justice, Lord Justice Holroyde said the Post Office “knew there were serious issues about the reliability of Horizon (the computer system)”, and had a “clear duty to investigate” its defects.
Vennells was awarded a CBE at the end of her tenure but is now facing calls for it to be stripped, along with the bonus pay she received in the role.
Morrisons and Dunelm declined to comment last night.