Ex-Post Office CEO Paula Vennells at Horizon inquiry – dwell updates

On May 22, 2024

Published: 08:30, 22 May 2024 | Updated: 09:03, 22 May 2024

Paula Vennells, the disgraced former CEO of the Post Office, will today give evidence to the Horizon IT scandal in what will be her first public remarks on the controversy in almost a decade.

Ms Vennells has been urged to come clean to the inquiry by former sub-postmasters ahead of her testimony which is scheduled to be heard over three days.

The 65-year-old, who was Post Office chief executive from 2012 to 2019, handed back her CBE in January this year amid mounting pressure over her role in the scandal following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Follow MailOnline’s live coverage below

Protestors seen outside inquiry

Despite standing in the pouring rain, protestors donning banners were still seen outside Aldwych House today.

Some of the signs read: ‘SOS: Support our Sub-postmasters’. while another exclaimed: ‘Justice For Sub-postmasters’.

Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells arrives to give evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House, central London. Picture date: Wednesday May 22, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story INQUIRY Horizon. Photo credit should read: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

Who is Paula Vennells?

Paula Vennels was the shamed former boss of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019 – a time in which hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted after faulty software said money was missing from branch accounts.

During her tenure as chief executive, the 65-year-old ordained priest oversaw huge financial struggles forcing the closure of thousands of Post Office branches nationwide.

She also commissioned a private investigation to investigate the supposed account shortfalls which concluded that there were no accounting or IT issues.

After a group of staff brought their case against the Post Office to the High Court in 2017, she eventually stepped down from her role in 2019.

She is now one of the most recognisable faces of the scandal despite having not spoken publicly about it since 2015.

EDITORIAL USE ONLY File photo dated 13/05/13 of former Post Office boss Paula Vennells who is due to start giving evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry on Wednesday morning. Issue date: Tuesday May 21, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story INQUIRY Horizon. Photo credit should read: Jeremy Durkin/PA Wire

EDITORIAL USE ONLY File photo dated 09/03/12 of disgraced ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells who is set to be questioned under oath 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. Issue date: Tuesday May 21, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Horizon. Photo credit should read: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

Watch: Paula Vennells arriving at Post Office Inquiry

Vennells arrives at inquiry

The former Post Office boss has arrived at the inquiry which is being held at Aldwych House in London.

The 65-year-old was met by a scrummage of photographers and reporters as she got out of a car shortly before 8am.

Paula Vennells, former Chief Executive Officer of the Post Office, arrives at Aldwych House, where the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry continues, in London, Britain, May 22, 2024. Reuters/Maja Smiejkowska

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Post Office Limited Paula Vennells (C) arrives to give evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, in central London, on May 22, 2024. More than 700 people running small local post offices received criminal convictions between 1999 and 2005 after faulty accounting software made it appear that money had gone missing from their branches. The scandal has been described at an ongoing public inquiry as "the worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history". (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Hello and good morning!

Welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of today’s Post Office inquiry as former chief executive Paula Vennells gives evidence.

It will mark the first public remarks from Ms Vennells over the Horizon IT scandal in almost a decade with many questions surrounding her role in what is described as the worst miscarriage of justice in British history.

We will bring you the latest developments on what promises to be a huge day at the Post Office Inquiry.

A general view of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry hearing room at Aldwych House in central London. Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells is due to begin giving her evidence to the Inquiry on Wednesday morning. Picture date: Tuesday May 21, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story INQUIRY Horizon. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire