Paula Vennells was booed as the Post Office inquiry heard she was “more bored than outraged” after watching a programme featuring Horizon victims.
The Post Office’s former chief executive endured hours of questioning from lawyers representing sub-postmasters as she gave evidence for a third day.
An email written by Ms Vennells in Dec 2014 provoked a furious reaction in the hearing room on Friday, with some sub-postmasters and their supporters even booing the ordained priest.
Referring to a One Show episode that featured Jo Hamilton – a former sub-postmistress who was prosecuted over an alleged shortfall of £36,000 in 2006 – Ms Vennells wrote to several senior colleagues saying: “Not easy for me to be objective, but I was more bored than outraged.”
She went on to add: “Jo Hamilton lacked passion and admitted false accounting on TV.”
Addressing Ms Vennells, Tim Moloney KC asked the former Post Office boss: “Did the mask slip in this email Ms Vennells?”
“I made a mistake in this email,” she responded.
The ex-chief executive went on to say she regretted “everything” she said in the message and addressed Ms Hamilton, who sat in the front row of the hearing room, with her eyes fixed on her.
“I apologised earlier to Mrs Hamilton about not having known about your prosecution file and the details we had of that earlier.
“I didn’t know about that at the time of this and I’m deeply sorry that I was so rude to you in that email.”
More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted as a result of the Horizon scandal, which saw the faulty software incorrectly record shortfalls in their branch accounts.
Speaking to The Telegraph after the hearing, Mrs Hamilton, who pleaded guilty to false accounting to avoid a prison sentence, said: “I’ll accept anyone’s apology – but some people say sorry and don’t mean it. I don’t know if she meant it.”
Earlier, Ms Vennells broke down in tears as she insisted she “loved” the Post Office.
The 65-year-old was forced to compose herself after she was accused of being someone who “couldn’t be bothered” to ask the right questions.
‘I loved the Post Office’
Sam Stein KC said Ms Vennells had “failed” and asked: “Looking under that rock, you’re going to find a problem that’s going to devastate the Post Office, ruin it, you couldn’t let that happen could you Ms Vennells?”
Beginning her response, Ms Vennells said: “I loved the Post Office. I gave..” before her voice broke and she began to cry, prompting a groan among some in the hearing room.
After composing herself, she continued: “I worked as hard as I possibly could to deliver the best Post Office for the UK.” Later, she added: “I let these people down. I am very aware of that.”
Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, whose fight for justice inspired the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, had little time for Ms Vennells’ declaration of love for the organisation.
He told The Telegraph: “It felt like a Cruella de Vil trying to play Mary Poppins.”
Mr Bates added: “She probably loved the money, loved the bonuses and loved not having to know anything. It was her job to say she loved the Post Office and probably in her job description.”
The day of interrogation began with questions from Edward Henry KC, who first addressed Ms Vennells by saying: “There were so many forks in the road but you always took the wrong path didn’t you?”
“It was an extraordinarily complex undertaking and the Post Office and I didn’t always take the right path,” responded Ms Vennells. “I’m very clear about that.”
Vennells: I was ‘too trusting’ of executives
Later Mr Henry asked Ms Vennells if she agreed that she had “no one to blame” but herself.
Responding in a slightly flustered manner, Ms Vennells said: “Absolutely – where I made mistakes and I made the wrong calls, whether or not I had – in those cases where I didn’t have information, I think that’s more difficult.”
Ms Vennells went on to argue that she had been “too trusting” of several Post Office executives, who she said denied her information.
When pressed to give names, she listed senior IT executives Mike Young, whom the inquiry has been unable to locate, and Lesley Sewell – as well as former general legal counsels Susan Crichton, Chris Aujard and Jane MacLeod.
The inquiry’s chairman, Sir Wyn Williams, a former High Court judge, confirmed that Ms MacLeod had refused to attend the inquiry or appear remotely and that he was unable to compel her to do so – despite her being an “important witness” – as she lives in Australia.
Accused of being ‘in la-la land’
Mr Henry went on to accuse the ex-Post Office boss of being in “la-la land” over her insistence that she was unaware remote access to sub-postmaster branches was possible during her 2012 to 2019 tenure as chief executive.
She said: “I don’t recall that at all from the time. If our external lawyers were aware of that, and that was shared within the Post Office at the time, it is completely unacceptable.”
Ms Vennells told the inquiry she had worked for “the last three years” on preparing her evidence on the inquiry and “prioritised” it above “anything else”.
She added: “It has probably been a full-time job. I have avoided talking to the press – perhaps to my own detriment – because all the way through I have put this first.”
However, Ms Vennells had no comment to give as she left Aldwych House – flanked by police officers – and stepped into a taxi.
The inquiry continues.
