Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells accused of misleading government | ITV News
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- Опубліковано 8 кві 2024
- Paula Vennells has been accused of misleading the government after ITV News obtained a letter from March 2015, which shows the former Post Office boss claimed there was no evidence sub-postmasters had been wrongfully convicted.
Ms Vennells, who ran the organisation between 2012 and 2019, told the-then Post Office minister Jo Swinson the “Post Office has found no reason to conclude that any prosecution was unsafe”.
ITV News' Investigations Editor Dan Hewitt reports.
Read the full report on the ITV News website here: www.itv.com/news/2024-04-09/f...
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I fail to understand how Ms Vennels can reconcile her Christian faith with her behaviour. Thou shall not bare false witness !!!!!!!!!
I think you will find history shows it is quite consistent with her Christian faith….unfortunately!
Anyone who believes in the existence of invisible universe creating, baby killing monsters that hide behind burning bushes cannot be trusted.
Being a "Christian" never stopped plenty of people from being criminals
They're mostly frauds and giant leeches
Paula Vennels is a counterfeit christian.
Post Office ltd was able to be Judge, Jury and Executioner. Paula Vennells and all of the senior Executives, Post Office, Fujitsu and Ministers in the know HAVE TO GO TO PRISON for the damage done to innocent peoples lives and the lives that are sadly lost. How does Paula Vennells sleep at night!
This is a perfect example that "POWER CORRUPTS AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY"
Sociopaths sleep very well.
The rich and privileged are very rarely brought to account in this country, and I doubt it will be any different this time. I'd love to see those in charge of this national disgrace rotting in jail for a few years, but we all know it won't happen
I don’t understand how they were able to do this, how were they able to side step the normal procedure?
She needs to go to jail.
Yup she needs to go to jail. Also let’s not forget that at the time she was a Minister in the Church of England disgusting behavior
Apologies don’t mean a thing she blatantly lied about these issues,and should be bought to justice
Lol. Like that's gunna happen. None of these people are going to held to account.
@@ZER0-- Agreed. There will be no justice.
it's called a throw away comment'
And defrocked as an CofE vicar to boot!
They are only sorry they got caught out lying.
They all should be jailed.
Swinson should also make hetself availsble.its shows by her naivety she was not fit for government
"jail" is a temporary situation, used by the police, please use prison as that is what I'm sure you correctly mean.
@@rogerbarrett8744 Blimey.. keep your beard on!
Btw, the op wrote "jailed" which is the perfect tense of a verb, (not the noun "Jail" which refers to a place, not a situation ), and is often used colloquially in this way... Completely acceptable.
@@OrlandoDibiskitt I made an observation about the word not about the tense."They all should be" imprisoned or incarcerated would have been factually correct. But I liked your presumably American overreaction.
And rendered destitute like the people they wronged.
People died because of her lies. That she's not in a cell is pure insanity.
This is only a Public Enquiry, criminal prosecutions may on the basis of this be forthcoming. At present no one has been charged with anything.
Nothing will happen until Enquiry is over - and then who knows…
She needs sponging
Inquiry is slowly but surely unearthing the 'directing mind' behind POL's outrageous prosecutions.When police have enough on that let's hope that corporate manslaughter charges will stick.
As to individual bosses, perverting the course of justice on this scale looks to mean the max 7yr behind bars according to Sentencing Council guidance. Some might say that's a shame, as it's an offence under common law and in theory can attract life imprisonment!
@@jjefferyworboys8138 and never will be ...it is the most corrupt UK government...Cameron, Johnson, Truss, Sunak ever
"Misleading" is one term, "brazenly lying" would be a more accurate one though.
Telephone conversations have now come to light, which proves that Vennells knew exactly what was going on, and she told people to cover it up
These apologies should be made from prison. They knew innocent people were being convicted. Unforgivable.
A psychopath in a suit.
Yep just like the rest of them
She wasn't the only one.
Estimates for the proportion of CEOs that show psychopathic tendencies range from 3-4% up to 12-15%. Basically psychopaths lack empathy; i.e. they don't give a toss about other people.
And she pretends to be a good little Christian woman.
@@marieparker3822 She was the Boss,
Lock her up!
Vennells needs locking up NOW!
And throw away the key
Emmm..how in the name.of god has Paula not been arrested?
Not while the Enquiry is on - they can hide behind that
It’s my belief that Vennels and her cohorts will never be brought to justice and if they are they’ll all get suspended sentences. Mark my words!
Most likely outcome, just proves how corrupt the legal system is
I do so hope you are wrong but I have a suspicion you are right .
Likewise I think your right but in my heart hope your wrong, they hunted down innocent post office post masters/mistresses knowing the horizon system was at fault. They’ll probably use the ministerial “get out of jail card” by apologising unreservedly.
No suspension sentences. Some post masters went to jail, died through stress, lost their jobs, lost thier savings, ridiculed, spat on, Paula Venells must see the inside of Pentenville/Wandsworth/Scubs prison and a massive e payout fir all running into millions each.
If you vote Labour or the Tories back in they'll no doubt let them all of the hook.
How many years should that bag spend in prison? The sum of the sentences imposed on her victims.
It’s pretty obvious their main focus was to PROTECT the PO BRAND but instead they’ve RUINED both the Brand & innocent people. The cover up is staggering !
Absolutely -protect the brand at all costs but it’s staggering how far they were prepared to go
Mislead? Why can’t you just say she lied?
She wrote this at the same time she wrote to Alan Bates telling him how disappointed she was that he was separately talking to ministers. What a calculating....individual...
How to hold the elite and privileged accountable? It rarely if ever happens.
And it's not happening here. Pay attention.
Unfortunately this is what happens or doesn’t happen
Will get a better job to shut her up and keep quiet
that is the history of british justice' - an oxymoron indeed!
@@denisekelsall9772 should say British Injustice
If found guilty ...she should be jailed for 10 years....and have all her assets seized...!
Now wouldn't that be lovely, but , alas sadly that will never happen. It would be fair if she got one year for every sub-postmaster's life, career and reputation she ruined by her lies and all her assets seized ?
What if she does a Tony Blair with the help of the media, and not only avoids jail but becomes a very highly paid Internet security advisor for the whole postal industry, of course the media will then leave her alone. This is what happens to people who mislead parliament right? Or does this only happen if you kill hundreds of thousands with your acts?
The money from her assets should go to pay the wrongly accused.
@robwillcox2307 does she have any assets? Not sure a horses grin can be monetised!
She will retire with her massive pension intact and not see a minute of jail time. The establishment takes care of its own every time. Only the proles get locked up.
What will be a real miscarriage of justice will be if no one goes to prison for this.
Jail time..
If innocent sub postmasters were sent to jail for doing nothing and the top bosses at royal mail new they were innocent they deserve to go to Jail....
all the sub postmasters need to get together and file a class action lawsuit against the post office!
@@Cader-ce6bv no justice when its the tax payer on the hook... Vennells and others must do prison time
We dont want underling scapegoats in jail we want those responsible! Suicides and jail terms for innocent ppl ? How about put guilty bosses in jail?
Guilty of Perjury and Manslaughter!
@@stevenclarke5606 This country very rarely put ppl in prison for things like this ....At least in America they do lock up wrong doers in positions of power and authority!
Paula and the other execs must be shtting themselves now waiting to appear before the comittee after these revelations, a small taste of hell that they put the subpostmasters through.
Not at all. None of these people will be "held to account", let alone, go to prison.
Unfortunately this will never happen, they never face the consequences of their actions, that’s only reserved for the working class
Why are you not going after Crozier as well, he is complicit being the CEO until 2012 and knew that horizon was faulty.
Who knows where this will ultimately lead ?
Crozier appears at the enquiry this Friday - should be interesting
She has to be jailed
Vennels is going to jail
Don't be silly.
I don’t think that she will, because the rich and powerful always stick together
@ZER0-- That's what you'd think normally. BUT she lied to parliament, which is itself a court. She allowed her legal department to pervert the course of justice and that is why she's fucked.
That's dead certain lock up
What will JC say about this
She is of the elite and if the right sexual orientation; untouchable.
She should be in custody already,, as should all of the politicians involved.
What isn't talked about enough is: why did the courts allow these prosecution to go through? Why did they automatically believe the Post Office and not do any checking of the credibility of their claims?
There's an awefull lot of greased palms been involved in this fiasco.£100million of tax payers money has been spent defending the indefensible.
The people defending themselves against the Post Office were way out of their depths and not represented by competent council. The Post Office were spending countless millions defending their lies.
The courts can only judge on what they see before them.
Through some bizarre way, the post office was able to conduct , so called investigations and interviews and then proceeded with prosecution’s .
Their conduct and behaviour was that of the Gestapo , brutal , immoral and illegal
The legal profession amongst others are all officers of the court. In their eyes superior beings to the rest of us. Their word is always accepted as the truth and goes unchallenged.
The CPS decide if there should be a criminal prosecution. People lie in court, it's nothing new.
What a despicable, evil individual. She must be held accountable for her actions.
Time is ticking, why has Vennells not been arrested yet? Seems like she's being protected and we're still not getting the whole picture.
Nothing will happen while the enquiry is ongoing
These people who lied should go to jail !!!
Pauls Vennels apologise? The best thing she can do is walk into Holloway Prison and stay there. Save a lot of legal costs.
Er, it doesn't exist anymore.
Cookham Wood then
She knowingly sent them to prison.
Her lies are responsible for these people lives.
Only fitting she is also sent to prison.
That would be true justice.
how no one is going to jail for this utter madness is unreal
reveals the britisth system for what it is......
Once found guilty she should be put in prison for life. She destroyed so many lives and the buck has to stop with her
If I had lied to the Commons select committee I think I’d be prosecuted rather quickly. One law for me but not for thee!
To think she was a priest in the C of E while she was 'bearing false witness' and ruining peoples' lives and reputation.
Exactly, Welby also promoted her as a candidate to be the Bishop of London. Sadly many of us from the C of E know there are genuine Christians and counterfeit Christians often weari g clerical collars and Bishops mitres.
There are some good conviction led clergy left...but they do not tend to be promoted up the ecclesiastical "greasy pole".
wolves in sheep's clothing. She is just a recent example of evil pretending to be good - there has been many like her throughout history and there will be more; and this is why we need effective laws and a trustworthy legal system
@@johnhudghton3535 Your "church" is appostate. You are charged with "comming out from amoungst them" but you persist in your delusions.
@@bingpz First of all spelling. Secondly I no longer serve in the C of E. My worship and service are outside of the C of E. Thirdly - who are you to charge and judge me for being deluded anyway? You do not know me and know little about me! I can tell you I have suffered at the hands of C of E senior leadership for upholding orthodoxy. Now repent and apologise to me for your error please in good biblical fashion. Oh and you have very poor taste i two wheeled transport. Buy a proper motorcycle 🤣
@@bingpz 1. Your spelling is lacking but that is the least of your errors. 2. I am no longer serving in or worshipping with The Church of England. You have wrongly presumed I am. You may repent and apologise in a good biblical manner. 3. Your taste in two wheeled transport is abysmal. Lose the scooter obsession and buy a proper motorcycle 🤣
Pay the compensation, fast and in full !!
How much is a ruined live ?
Plus, all the money these people had to pay because they were found guilty of theft. And that money should be paid back to them with 10% compounding interest.
@@sylviawinterburn4455 Can you afford it, as a taxpayer as therefore owner of the Post Office you will be paying this ?
Re - misled.Should read lie and or perjury.
So why aren't Ed Davey and Jo Swinson sueing the Post Office? Or Kier Starmer or David Cameron for that matter? Surely being lied to by a big organisation to such an extent that it damages your political career necessitates legal action? Why so quiet? Because legal action would reveal even more horrors?
The taxpayer you and me own the Post Office. It is not an independent organisation. It is another example of government not having the talent to run anything. These people are not streetwise. If the Post Office is sued as you are suggesting it will be us picking up the bill.
@@bottleneck4593 : government 100% shareholders with our money ........
Because the are corrupt, they made profit from it! They know exactly what they are doing, the only way out is to stop voting for them.
When is Vennells’ OBE awarded for service to the Post Office going to be stripped from her?
Didn’t she hand it back?
Yea, she handed it back - only after 1 million signed a petition. *She was listening to the people* Will we see her in court - don't hold your breath. Regards.
@@joanne4758 Yes she has friends in high places - Nick Ross for one who no doubt has a few well connected friends homself within the force.......
She didn’t mislead Alan Bates……makes you wonder what sort of calibre our MP’s are.
No. No one "wonders" - except perhaps the willfully naive and complicit..
Tho, tbf, it most certainly was not just the gutless MP's. The media failed miserably in their thorough and willful incompetence, as did the public for so eagerly jumping onto the gossip-mongering bandwagon to vilify and abuse the victims of this travesty. This is an epic cultural failure, tbh.
What is striking is that she was an Anglican priest.
Wow.
That's doesn't matter. If she was the Pope Perry Mason would be struggling to get her off !
As a retired Anglican Priest it does not surprise me, sadly. Too many over ambitious, self promoting ruthless "fakes" in high office. Helps if you have the right demographics and liberal left values to declare rather than the good old qualities of personal integrity Jesus talked about.
@@johnhudghton3535 I have found this to be the case and it is odd. I have a fondness for the Anglican liturgy but I have seen abuses there that are appalling.
The fact that Vennells is STILL CEO is a slap in the face
No she is not
The craziest things thing to me is while all this was going on someone decided it was a good idea to give her an OBE.
😳 Which in turn say's plenty re those who suggested such. I feel sick re this in this day and age.
@@willmoore7582And put her forward for Bishop of London!! The Archbishop of Canterbury should be wary of his friends in high places! It's a long way to fall, when you trip over a snake pit!
tells you everything - these people are above the law - just like Blair. I wonder if good Brits will ever wake from their stupor and see their system for what it is....
aka Vennels LIED to Parliament.
Disgusting, people lost jobs, homes , lives and were also sent to prison, while she knew there was a problem with the software. She has to go on trial.
Not prosecuting those accountable and responsible for the miscarriage of justice and huge human trauma will damage trust and faith in the UK legal system for a generation, it seems.
the UK legal system - what a farce it is!
This is utterly, utterly disgusting, all involved should be prosecuted. Apologies aren’t anywhere near substantial for the damage caused.
Now will we find out if there is one law for them and one law for us. Vennells must serve TIME. !!!
20 yrs to get to the truth ! Its a disgrace !People died because of this .Time for justice for all who suffered .
The Post Office demanded money they were not entitled to. Why are they not being charged with theft?
And where did the money go that was paid by Subpostmasters for amounts that had apparently disappeared, but didn't in fact vanish into thin air, because it was a computer error??? It must be somewhere or in someone's pocket!
What kind of a sociopath puts a company's reputation before real lives ? She needs locking away from the rest of us.
Many many many
Literally every single one
All of them.
If they knew it’s criminal, if they didn’t know it’s worse
Paula should be jailed for lying, considering the harm caused by the PO.
Why do you think Cameron Honoured her?
I would not believe any one at the Post Office, to tell me the right time in a room full of clocks.
The Reverend Venality, Church of England
These CoE cult members are wicked.
@@tonybeamNot all of them, but one rotten apple (or maybe a basket on them) can spoil a crop of good ones.
Apologizes? Venalls needs to be prosecuted, her assets seized, her homes seized and all wrongly convicted sub postmasters should be compensated for their losses completely and given punitive damages as well.
I hope that prison beckons!
She knowingly told blatant lies, and there are at least tens of others who were complicit in this stich-up, both corporate and political, it wouldn't surprise me. All need prison time.
The bonuses, pension, assets etc that she’s got over the years from the post office should all be paid back. As for the millions of public money she insisted on spending defending her lies and prosecuting the innocent leading to deaths that she should do jail time for
Give Vennells a CBE and think she deserved it?? I always thought perjury was punishable by jail.
Vennells gave back her OBE as if that's punishment enough. She and all these monsters should go to jail, They are dragging this out in the hopes people will move on. Arrest these people now. Tonight
Stop calling it"The post office" and name the people!
Wow more talk about what we’ve known for months no action taken
Mps do it all the time are we shocked
Talk talk talk, no action.
Prison, send her to prison
Fact she talked at my school is embrassing 😢😢😢😢
This is that rarest of commodities in my country - actual, journalism.
Let's not get carried away now. These very same media were all on board for this decades-long travesty since the beginning, and are far more eager now to try to cover up their own egregious failures, incompetence, and complicity by focusing blame on some of the others. The sudden jockeying and finger pointing amongst these collective parasites is shameless and sickening to witness.
JAIL
How can it be ok for a company ie the post office to investigate a system that will be in their own interests to be found faultless and therefore find the post masters guilty,a criminal organisation investigating itself is totally absurd
Jail her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am no fan of Jo Swinson, But she was lied to over this and Vennells should go to Gaol.
David Davis a real MP and says it as it is.
Vennels is a liar
Yes, David Davis is kosher, about the only one who is, and should be PM.
Davis refused to see alan bates beforehand' he's as tainted as the rest of the PO' typical two faced minister ...............
Just feel Davey and Swinson were too easily duped by the PO
Swinson has the Brains of an Ameba??
@@rogerdewhurst5750What Drugs are You On???
Paula needs to be jailed for life, her assets need to be seized, sold and the proceeds distributed to her victims. In the taped phone calls SHE KNEW EVERYTHING, Post Office own lawyers warned her, she fired auditors who brought up the problems with the technology. Everything this woman did was deliberate, how much did she steal? Into the millions? What about the Post Office lawyers, how much did they steal? Also, where the heck was the Crown Attorneys? Post Office lawyers have admitted on tape they had NO EVIDENCE of theft by the sub-postmasters, YET, they were still threatened with pleas deals, jailed and forced to cash out their own pensions to pay for the what we now know FALSE SHORTFALLS? Were the Crown Attorneys paid off?
The Crown is not there to prosecute, they are to assess evidence of potential wrongdoing, if it's there they prosecute. If it isn't they don't prosecute, so what gives here? This smells like everyone was getting bought off at the expense of decent, hard working everyday sub-postmasters.
Where did the money go? Somebody took it . Look at Fujitsu
There was no missing money, it was an invented debt. the money they stole from the postmasters went into the PO accounts. I am still wondering why fujitsu was totally messing with the bottom line of a customers business, and the remote back door access isn't a software fault, that open access had to be part of the basic programming.
@@marksavage1108 Fraud, corruption.
I've been following this scandal in detail in 'Private Eye' for 12 years. Why haven't Government and Opposition Ministers? They have a whole office-full of staff to keep up with such things.
JAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Since we now know some of the monies stolen from the Sub-Postmasters, through the errors created by the software were later assigned as profits to the company, and that some of those involved received bonus and performance payments. Those involved in particular all senior executives should have their personal finances investigated, to see if their motive was personal gain. In particular any trust funds for which they or their families are beneficiaries, especially where they are held in offshore accounts should be audited.
Call it like it is P Vennells was lying not misleading people
I don’t think the people who were sent to prison, would call it misleading.
Time she and her ally’s had a legitimate criminal record. And a few years in jail and pay every penny she made is paid back.
She needs to be jailed. Plain and simple.
Lets be honest it wouldn't be difficult to fool Jo Swinson
Yes too many of them took the word of the PO too easily and not delved deeper
Public disgust with this individual is palpable.
The legal profeaaion had better get this hugely incompetent CEO and her accomplices imprisoned. Nothing less is acceptable.
Note to other "journalists", look how much good proper journalism can do. Doffed hat to ITV, outstanding work, don't let up. Awards are required for the team involved.
Send her to prison. Although i doubt we'll see justice.
I got this funny hunch that Post office is NOT the only company with tbis "IT issue"
Many if not All Retail companies are doing the same.
Not an IT issue, but in a prestigious warehouse one of the cashiers was investigated and accused of stealing and subsequently laid off in dishonour because of money that kept disappearing. She maintained stating her innocence and was punished more severely for "holding up her lies".
After her ignominious departure, her till drawer jammed. All the missing money had found its way to the void behind the drawer.
JD, this has descended into complete madness!! I almost vomited at your last example of what these creeps are doing and how society is completely supportive of their narcissism and power crazed abusive behaviour. You are fantastic for continuing to cover this.
Apart from holding Vennells and her cronies accountable for this horrendous injustice...I mean thats a given...is anyone going to investigate Susan Crichton, the PO General Council, and what she meant in the recordings when she said "So it's how do we close down the MP's side of the process, and what would work for MP's? And what can we sell to MP's?" Because that sounds rather dodgy to me. Was she trying to find ways to influence or even bribe them to stop looking at the situation and if so, did any MP's actively turn a blind eye
She is due to appear at the enquiry sometime soon
It was dodgy!
Put all of them in jail
Should be in jail
Misled? If so, then the Treasury did, too. Sarah Munby's briefing of Henry Staunton shows he was not aware of the culture difference between the Public Sector and Civil Service, which is at the heart of this row. I worked in the Group Treasury, Chief Dealer of an FT-100 Company for a decade before moving into the International Civil Service, which has very little conception of Finance: your budget is an absolute and you must live within it, come what may. If a new activity is added, you may have another to go with it, it's indexed annually, but each budget is a stand-alone module. That's a very different thing from the ongoing concern and capital conception of most businesses, making the Post Office rather a fake Company.
The problem here is the size of the criminal compensation arising. The force the culture change, I think prison time must result, including the senior Civil Servants who're behind Munby. They don't realise the human consequences of their acts, and that makes manslaughter a reality. The idea of Corporate Manslaughter disengages the direct responsibility of those decisions, and so must be put out of mind, as does Crown Immunity. This has engaged the ECHR right to life.
Why is this boss not in prison and awaiting trial, as she could do a runner, has the money gone abroad in an account for her.
The thought of these people losing sleep over the suffering they allowed to happen to innocent people.discusting conduct.justice for these poor innocent individuals and those who took their own lives deserve such a lot
Former minister "yes I didn't do my due diligence but it wasn't me, it was her."
Post office ministers are also ultimately responsible ,like a ships captain, and should resign .
God help us, I wonder will Justice be served on her, I hope so. Did she not think to herself somethings wrong here people being ruined right, left and centre. She needs to be brought to Justice.
She been promised Welby job after he steps down government new