Paula Vennells danced away whereas sub-postmasters campaigned to clear names
Shameless Paula Vennells boogied to Pixie Lott at a workers knees-up because the Post Office fought a authorized case by sub-postmasters wrongly jailed for theft.
The Post Office boss was filmed with fellow prime brass on the expenses-paid firm bash at a five-star resort. Ms Vennells partied with predecessor Alan Cook, who oversaw the wrongful prosecution of 161 sub-postmasters and the imprisonment of 57.
There too was Kevin Gilliland, head of retail on the top of the scandal. And there was an invitation for Angela Van Den Bogerd, a dogged advocate of defective Horizon software program blamed for wrongful convictions. Tonight Seema Misra, who was pregnant when she was wrongly jailed, mentioned: “This is utterly shameful.”
The Surrey sub-postmistress, 48, added: “I can’t believe it – people lost their lives and these people are out there partying. Every time I think I have heard it all, something new emerges, it’s disgusting. In 2017 I was struggling to make ends meet and my youngest didn’t even celebrate his birthday, and these people are out having a party.”
The damning footage was taken on the Post Office’s Retail Sales Awards, the place prime performing workers get gongs. Ms Vennells was filmed twirling on stage and singing alongside to Pixie’s raunchy lyrics in the course of the glittery occasion on the Hilton Hotel on London’s Park Lane. Four-time Brit Award nominee Pixie – whose hits embrace Nasty and What Do You Take Me For? – reportedly charged round £25,000 for company gigs on the time.
Dancing to her primary single Kiss the Stars, the then 58-year-old Ms Vennells grinned and confirmed off her strikes in a sensible white gown. The bash was on June 10, 2017 – three months after she supplied “inaccurate and misleading” data to the High Court throughout authorized motion by whistleblower Alan Bates and 555 sub-postmasters.
His marketing campaign in opposition to the Post Office’s cruel injustice spawned ITV hit drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, starring Toby Jones, which sparked an enormous outcry, forcing Ms Vennells at hand again her CBE. But in a speech to kickstart the night, Ms Vennells, described it as “representing the best values of modern Britain.”
Partygoers had been videoed glugging champagne and making fast work of a gourmand three-course meal, that includes butternut squash tartines. It is the primary time footage has emerged of bosses letting unfastened for the reason that scandal – first dropped at the corporate’s consideration in 2010. The clip was proudly posted by the Post Office on its web site however later vanished.
Today a second wrongly convicted sub-postmaster, Mark Kelly, 45, from Swansea, was incensed on the footage. He mentioned: “Nothing surprises me with the Post Office and this just further proves Ms Vennells has no moral compass.”
Ms Vennells, an Anglican priest, pocketed greater than £4.5million whereas chief govt from 2012 to 2019.
The video emerged after a dramatic week on the Post Office inquiry. Fujitsu European boss Paul Patterson admitted it knew of faults for “many, many years”, calling the tragedy an “appalling miscarriage” that has damaged belief in expertise.
HMRC is probing the PO after specialists claimed it might have underpaid £100m in tax after deducting victims’ funds from its income.
Post Office Minister Kevin Hollinrake mentioned he desires these behind the scandal jailed. And ex-postmistress Yvonne Tracey has vowed to run in opposition to Lib Dem chief and Kingston and Surbiton MP Sir Ed Davey within the common election, in protest over his former function as Post Office Minister.
The Post Office declined to remark in regards to the video.
