'Too little too late': Cumbrian former sub-postmaster reacts to Paula Vennells evidence

A sub-postmaster who became a victim of the Post Office scandal has described Paula Vennells' evidence as “too little too late”.

Panjalingam Karunakumaran lost his business in Windermere and was forced to pay back thousands of pounds after he was wrongly accused of theft in 2007.

The discrepancies were since found to be caused by the Horizon IT system.

The former chief executive of the Post Office broke down in tears twice today as she apologised to sub-postmasters.

Mr Karunakumaran said that many tears have been shed by sub-postmasters because of what happened under her watch.

“She knows everything that was going on with the Horizon system - she should have told us that before people were taken to court," he said.

He added: “It’s too late now - too little, too late.”

Ms Vennells broke down in tears after being presented with three examples of sub-postmasters who were acquitted over the faulty IT system.

She said she "now" accepts the Post Office knew, but said "personally I didn't".

Ms Vennells went on to admit she "made mistakes" but denied she and colleagues attempted to cover up the scandal, saying "a conspiracy feels too far-fetched".

Panjalingam received £185,000 in compensation but believes this doesn't cover the loss of income he suffered while his post office was shut.

He also says that his mental health was badly impacted and that his reputation was damaged.

“My name’s spoilt, everything’s spoilt now.

"I can't go back and think about what happened to me ten, fifteen years ago, if I go back, I’m really crying, that's all I can say.”

Paula Vennells denied that there was any kind of conspiracy to cover up the scandal and today apologised for the harm caused.

Mr Karunakumaran said: “People have cried already, people are suffering already.

"If the ITV drama hadn't come out, you wouldn’t see her, she wouldn't be there, she'd still be hiding.”

"Lots of people have ended up in jail for nothing. She knows that.”

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…