Shamed ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells apologises for 'all that subpostmasters and their families have suffered' - as she begins giving evidence to Horizon scandal inquiry

Former Post Office brag Paula Vennells contiguous issued a grovelling apology to the victims of the Horizon scandal. 

The 65-year-old businesswoman said she was 'very, precise sorry' arsenic she took to the witnesser container astatine the nationalist enquiry into wherefore hundreds of subdivision managers were wrongly prosecuted amid claims they stole from the business.

Hundreds of subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office betwixt 1999 and 2015 aft Horizon, owned by Japanese institution Fujitsu, made it look arsenic though wealth was missing astatine their branches.

The ungraded was deemed the astir wide miscarriage of justness successful British ineligible history, portion Ms Vennells' cardinal relation successful it was portrayed in ITV's acclaimed play bid Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, prompting overmuch nationalist choler astatine what happened.

Ms Vennells, who was main enforcement astatine the institution from 2012 to 2019, began her grounds by turning straight to campaigners and victims, sat a abbreviated region distant from her.

Vennells did not reply immoderate questions arsenic she entered Aldwych House earlier this morning. At the opening of her grounds to the Horizon IT enquiry today, Vennells was fixed a self-incrimination warning. 

The informing made clear she could diminution to reply a question and the president Sir Wyn Williams said her objection would beryllium ruled upon thereafter.

Vennells continued: 'I would conscionable similar to say, and I'm grateful for the accidental to bash this successful person, however atrocious I americium for each that subpostmasters and their families and others who suffered arsenic a effect of each of the matters that the enquiry has been looking into for truthful long.' 

As Vennells spoke, postmasters watching the enquiry livestream from Fenny Compton could beryllium seen shaking their heads and laughing.  

Vennells continued: 'I followed and listened to each of the quality interaction statements and I was precise affected by them. I retrieve listening to 1 postmaster whose sanction I noted who said that helium would similar idiosyncratic to spell and basal extracurricular his aged Post Office with him truthful helium could archer them precisely what helium had gone through. I would bash that. I americium very, precise sorry.'

She besides said atrocious to the campaigners and investigators, whose enactment she said was made 'so overmuch harder'.

She added: 'My 3rd apology is truly astir today.

'I volition reply the questions truthfully. I americium precise alert they volition beryllium precise hard to perceive to, for you and for me, and I inquire for your knowing successful beforehand of that.'

Ms Vennells said she was 'too trusting' erstwhile Jason Beer KC, pb lawyer for the inquiry, opened his questioning by asking if she was 'the unluckiest CEO (chief enforcement officer) successful the United Kingdom.'

Ms Vennells said: 'As the enquiry has heard, determination was accusation I wasn't fixed and others didn't person arsenic well.

'One of my reflections of each of this - I was excessively trusting.'

She said she was 'disappointed' that accusation 'wasn't shared' with her.

Mr Beer asked: 'Was determination a conspiracy astatine the Post Office which lasted for astir 12 years involving a wide scope of people, differing implicit time, to contradict you accusation and to contradict you documents and to falsely springiness you reassurance.'

Ms Vennells smiled concisely arsenic she replied: 'No I don't judge that was the case.'

She added: 'I person been disappointed - peculiarly much precocious listening to grounds astatine the enquiry - wherever I deliberation I person learnt that radical cognize much than possibly they remembered astatine the clip oregon I knew of astatine the time.

'My heavy sorrow successful this is I deliberation individuals, myself included, possibly didn't spot things, didn't perceive things. Conspiracy feels excessively far-fetched.'

She pointed the digit astatine unnamed 'colleagues' who 'did cognize much accusation than was shared'.

There was a tiny ripple of laughter arsenic Ms Vennells said she was sometimes criticised successful squad improvement events 'for being excessively curious'.

She told the inquiry: 'I asked questions, I oversaw the strategy which would person introduced changes wherever we felt it was due to the organisation.

'I probed, I worked successful a structured mode and an informal way.'

Ms Vennells denied continuing to blasted the Horizon strategy for the failures successful her witnesser connection which said 'lives were torn isolated by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted arsenic a effect of the Horizon system'.

Mr Beer asked: 'Even aft each the enquiry has revealed and the thousands of documents you've read, bash you proceed to deliberation that the contented was with the machine system, the Horizon system, arsenic opposed to the conduct, competence and morals of those wrong the Post Office?'

Ms Vennells replied: 'No not astatine all, and apologies if that is not clear.

'What I meant to accidental is arsenic a effect of each of the matters relating to Horizon.'

She denied Mr Beer's proposition that the remark successful her witnesser statement, submitted little than 2 months agone but work for the archetypal clip successful nationalist today, was 'a perpetuation of a civilization that ran done the Post Office of failing to instrumentality work for the usage of powers that it elected to use, and so usage robustly, and alternatively blasted the IT'.

Ms Vennells replied: 'No, it isn't that astatine all.

'The calamity we are dealing with contiguous is the effect of thing much, overmuch broader than an IT system.'

Ms Vennells, wearing a grey trouser suit and orangish scarf, was met by bustling crowds arsenic she arrived astatine the enquiry centre successful cardinal London soon earlier 8am, 2 hours earlier her eagerly-awaited grounds began.

Seema Misra, who ran a Post Office successful West Byfleet, Surrey, and was jailed successful 2010 aft being accused of stealing £74,000, told reporters she urged Ms Vennells to 'for god's sake, talk truth'.

More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted for theft by the Post Office and handed transgression convictions betwixt 1999 and 2015 arsenic Fujitsu's faulty IT system, known arsenic Horizon, made it look arsenic though wealth was missing astatine their branches.

Many were sent to jailhouse and bankrupted, portion astatine slightest 4 are believed to person taken their ain lives implicit it.

Prosecutions continued to hap nether Ms Vennells' ticker contempt repeatedly being told determination were concerns astir the reliability of the evidence.

Ms Vennells initially submitted a abbreviated connection to the long-running enquiry 3 years agone successful which her ineligible squad said she had been 'deeply disturbed' aft judges ruled the prosecution of subpostmasters was 'an affront to justice'.

Her connection added: 'What has travel to light, supra each successful narration to the behaviour of backstage prosecutions of sub-postmasters implicit a lengthy period, was intelligibly unacceptable.'

But contiguous marks the archetypal clip Ms Vennells, an ordained Anglican priest, has fixed unrecorded grounds to the enquiry - and offered her the accidental to respond to a litany of allegations astir her clip astatine the Post Office.

Earlier, speaking up of her appearance, Ms Hamilton has said she Vennells 'knew' radical were being wrongly convicted.

She told GMB she 'almost fainted' aft pleading blameworthy to mendacious accounting charges and being told she would not person a custodial sentence. 

'I was truthful relieved, I had tears pouring down my face,' Ms Hamilton said.

'I deliberation she has to person known it's been going on, she can't beryllium anserine to beryllium CEO and you person to know. 

'But however overmuch she knew we're going to find out, but she had to cognize what was going connected due to the fact that she was caput of the tree.

'I sat down her successful the prime committee successful 2015 and you could spot from the assemblage language, I judge she knew past successful 2015.'

The probe antecedently heard Ms Vennells had hoped that determination would not beryllium an autarkic enquiry - adjacent having her fig blocked by ex-head of IT Lesley Sewell aft seeking her assistance to debar one.

The enquiry heard this included lasting by the condemnation of Jo Hamilton, and authorising the wrongful prosecution of Lee Castleton, some of which were featured successful the ITV drama.

Ms Hamilton was falsely accused of taking the wealth from the Post Office subdivision she ran successful South Warnborough, Hampshire.

She yet pleaded blameworthy to mendacious accounting successful fearfulness of going to jailhouse - having doubly re-mortgaged her location - and was prosecuted successful 2006, but had her condemnation quashed successful 2021 erstwhile she was recovered to beryllium a unfortunate of the Post Office Horizon scandal.

In a missive to Lord James Arbuthnot, Ms Hamilton's then-MP, successful 2012, Ms Vennells wrote: 'There has been nary grounds to enactment immoderate of the allegations and we person nary crushed to uncertainty the integrity of the system, which we stay assured is robust and acceptable for purpose.'

Lord Arbuthnot said Ms Vennells and elder colleagues 'had go defensive, legalistic, and determined to support from MPs accusation astir which they had antecedently promised to beryllium open' erstwhile helium and others began to rise concerns astir the prosecutions.

The enquiry heard Ms Vennells apt signed disconnected the proceedings measure of much than £300,000 to prosecute Mr Castleton, aft a £23,000 shortfall during a 12-week play astatine his subdivision successful Bridlington, East Yorkshire.

Mr Castleton repeatedly asked the Post Office for assistance but was sacked and sued for refusing to repay the cash. He was made bankrupt aft a two-year ineligible measure and ordered to wage much than £300,000 for the company's ineligible bill.

Speaking earlier Ms Vennells gave evidence, Mr Castleton said: 'It's a bully level for her to yet speak. She's not been capable to, for immoderate reason, talk for each these years. I deliberation it's important that she is listened to and heard and past we tin each justice that.'

He said helium was hoping to perceive 'the truth'.

Asked what connection helium would nonstop to Ms Vennells if helium could, Mr Castleton said: 'This is your accidental to enactment it retired there. The world's listening, if you like. Do what you consciousness is right.'

Ms Vennells is said to person maintained Horizon was 'robust' and was truthful wedded to issues being a responsibility with the subpostmasters alternatively than the bundle that she falsely told a Government curate successful 2012 that the courts recovered successful the Post Office's favour 'in each instance' erstwhile prosecuting subpostmasters for theft oregon mendacious accounting.

She besides suggested that 'temptation was an issue' for subdivision workers, and that immoderate had been 'borrowing' wealth from the tills.

Ms Vennells forfeited her CBE for services to the Post Office and to foundation earlier this twelvemonth aft 'bringing the honours strategy into disrepute' pursuing the nationalist backlash brought connected by the TV series.

She was handed the honour successful 2019, conscionable a period earlier quitting the beleaguered government-owned company.

ITV News reported that the October 2013 email, arsenic good arsenic a signaling of a telephone speech involving Ms Vennells, confirmed she was sent lawsuit files of 8 subpostmasters.

The email from Ms Vennells to Ron Warmington, a forensic accountant with steadfast Second Sight who were drafted successful to reappraisal independently the Horizon system, read: 'Apart from uncovering them precise disturbing (I defy anyone not to), I americium present adjacent amended informed.

'The signifier you person devised is precise adjuvant arsenic it removes immoderate of the emotion and highlights precise intelligibly areas we request to code arsenic good arsenic analyse for the mediation process, which I anticipation volition bring closure for immoderate of these people.

'As I said... I instrumentality this precise seriously...'

In 2015, she told MPs she had seen nary grounds of miscarriages of justness and that determination were nary faults successful the Horizon system.

Counsel to the enquiry are apt to probe Ms Vennells connected whether she deliberately misled the concern prime committee.

The revelation has been described by Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi arsenic the 'smoking gun' that is the cover-up of the Horizon IT ungraded and has called connected her to 'finally admit the truth'.

Jason Beer KC antecedently told the probe she made a mendacious connection successful 2012 to past Conservative MP Oliver Letwin erstwhile she wrote astir the prosecution of subpostmasters, successful which she said: 'In each instance, the tribunal has recovered successful our favour.'

Questions astir the Post Office's alleged 'defensive and self-absorbed' civilization besides loom implicit Ms Vennells - with the business's existent main fiscal serviceman Alisdair Cameron speaking of an 'unacceptable, self-serving' narration with subpostmasters.

He told the probe that Ms Vennells had been 'clear successful her condemnation from the time I joined that thing had gone wrong' - adding that she did not judge determination had been immoderate miscarriages of justice.

She has not yet spoken successful item astir her relation successful the scandal, but antecedently apologised for the 'devastation caused to subpostmasters and their families'.

Ms Vennells was made a CBE successful the 2019 New Years Honours List 'for services to the Post Office and to charity', but voluntarily handed the honour backmost aft a petition attracted much than 1.2 cardinal signatures.

The Metropolitan Police antecedently said they are looking astatine 'potential fraud offences' arising retired of the prosecution of subpostmasters; for example, 'monies recovered... arsenic a effect of prosecutions oregon civilian actions'.

Two Fujitsu experts, who were witnesses successful the trials, are being investigated for perjury and perverting the people of justness - but cipher has been arrested since the enquiry was launched successful January 2020.

There are improbable to beryllium immoderate transgression charges until enquiry president Sir Wyn Williams completes his last report, which is expected to beryllium published adjacent year.

In the meantime, hundreds of subpostmasters are inactive awaiting compensation contempt the Government announcing that those who person had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.