Shamed ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells jeered at public inquiry after breaking down in tears
SHAMED ex-Post Office chief Paula Vennells was jeered yesterday as she faced fresh questioning over the Horizon scandal.
Her latest grilling came the day after she broke down in tears at the public inquiry.
She was quizzed over an email suggesting a wide-ranging review into convictions of sub-postmasters was dropped amid fears it would make “front page news”.
As Ms Vennells tried to deny Press coverage was a factor, there were jeers in the public gallery.
An independent report in 2013 had identified bugs in Fujitsu’s Horizon software, raising doubts about the reliability of data used to prosecute hundreds for false accounting.
Inquiry counsel Jason Beer KC showed Ms Vennells an email to senior Post Office staff in which she asked why the review did not cover convictions which were up to ten years old
Then PR chief Mark Davies suggested there was a “real danger” in probing past cases as it could make “front page news”.
Ms Vennells replied: “You are right to call this out. I will take your steer.”
In an earlier email, she suggested all Press should be “scoured for negative comment and refuted”.
Ms Vennells denied knowing of email conversations advising staff to “answer no” on whether system defects resulted in wrongful convictions.
She struggled to respond when Mr Beer pointed out the email began: “Paula would like to say we have agreed the following.”
Ms Vennells, who walked away with £4.5million, is due to give more evidence today.