Paula Vennells set to appear at Horizon inquiry - and has many questions to answer
Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells is set to be questioned under oath on Wednesday about her role in the Horizon scandal, which unfolded under her watch.
Ms Vennells, who was chief executive at the company from 2012 to 2019, will give evidence over the course of three days at the Horizon IT inquiry.
The 65-year-old has been accused of a cover-up by sub-postmasters, with campaigner and former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton calling on her to tell the truth.
Post Office Inquiry: Who is Paula Vennells and why is her appearance so anticipated?
The former chief executive has not yet spoken in detail about her role in the scandal, but previously apologised for the “devastation caused to sub-postmasters and their families”.
A document submitted by her lawyers ahead of a preliminary hearing in 2021 said she was “deeply disturbed” by the judgments in the cases against lead campaigner Alan Bates and Ms Hamilton in which Horizon was found to be faulty.
Yet, Vennells still has many questions she must answer:
When did Vennells first know that accounts could be remotely accessed?
One of the main claims from the Post Office was that sub-postmasters' accounts were secure because they could not be accessed remotely.
When it was revealed that Fujitsu, the firm behind Horizon, could access the accounts through a back door, the prosecution cases were undermined.The Post Office initially became aware of this access in 2010.
But when did Vennnells know when the Post Office's IT Helpdesk or Fujitsu staff could access and edit branch accounts?
Why did she allow the Post Office prosecutions to go ahead in court?
More than 700 sub-postmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
Prosecutions continued to happen under Ms Vennells’ watch despite retired judge Sir Anthony Hooper, the chairman of the mediation scheme for people who believed they had been wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office, repeatedly telling her they “didn’t make sense”.
Did she wrongly tell MPs there was no evidence of a miscarriage of justice?
A lot has been asked of Vennells' previous statements. Top of that list will be when she was grilled by MPs in 2015.
At that point, after forensic accountants had uncovered Horizon bugs, she told MPs there was "no evidence" of "miscarriages of justice".
She was made a CBE in the 2019 New Years Honours List “for services to the Post Office and to charity”, but voluntarily handed the honour back after a petition attracted more than 1.2 million signatures.
In a short statement previously issued by Ms Vennells, she said she would “continue to support and focus on co-operating with the inquiry”.
What else could she be questioned on?
The probe heard she was set to disclose 50 additional documents to the inquiry’s counsel on Friday.
Ms Vennells could be quizzed on alleged false evidence given by expert witnesses during Post Office prosecutions, and the behaviour of the company’s investigators.
She may also be questioned on whether she believed there were any miscarriages of justice during her tenure after chief financial officer Alisdair Cameron told the probe she did not and “could not have got there emotionally”.
The Post Office has come under fire following the screening of ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which put the Horizon IT scandal under the spotlight.
Hundreds of Sub-postmasters are still awaiting full compensation despite the government announcing those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.
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