Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells returns CBE following Horizon scandal
There could be a new law to quash the convictions of wrongfully punished subpostmasters, ITV News Politics Reporter Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe reports
A former Post Office boss who was in charge of the company during the Horizon scandal has announced she is to return her CBE.
Paula Vennells, who was chief executive officer of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019, announced in a statement following huge pressure that she would hand back her gong.
It comes after more than 1.2 million people signed a petition urging the government to strip her of it, following the release of an ITV drama which revealed the level of injustice in the Horizon scandal.
Some 736 sub-postmasters and mistresses were convicted of fraud and theft between 1999 and 2015, due to accounting errors created by the Horizon IT system which were blamed on staff.
Ms Vennells said she is "truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families".
The ex-Post Office boss explained she had so far maintained her silence over the Horizon scandal because she "considered it inappropriate" to comment during the statutory inquiry which is looking into what went wrong.
But Ms Vennells said she felt compelled to take action after hearing how many people wanted her to hand back her royal honour.
Rishi Sunak's spokesman said on Monday that the prime minister would "strongly support" any action taken by the Honours Forfeiture Committee to remove her CBE.
Downing Street welcomed Ms Vennells' decision, with the PM's official spokesman saying: “We think that is obviously the right decision.
“Our focus continues to be on ensuring all those whose lives were torn apart have swifter access to compensation and justice.”
Ministers have been scrambling to take action on the wrongful Post Office convictions after the release of ITV's Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
If you, or someone you know, has been affected by the Post Office IT Scandal - you can get in touch with your story. Email our specialist team - investigations@itv.com .
Watch the trailer for ITV's Mr Bates vs the Post Office
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told the Commons on Tuesday that he was giving "active consideration" to the idea of legislation which would exonerate all those wrongly convicted.
He was responding to a question from former minister Nadhim Zahawi, who asked him to "bring in a simple bill to quash" all wrongful convictions "immediately".
Mr Zahawi - who plays himself in the TV drama - told the Commons those wrongly convicted could not claim compensation until their convictions are quashed.
It comes after Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake told MPs on Monday that a solution to the wrongful convictions could come about as early as this week.
What did Paula Vennells say about handing back her CBE?
In her statement, Ms 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 sub-postmasters 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.”
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