Paula Vennells to hand back her CBE after Post Office scandal

Paula Vennells has announced that she will hand back her CBE after an uproar over the Post Office scandal.

Public outcry has seen a huge spike since the broadcasting of Mr Bates vs the Post Office on ITV last week, and a petition demanding that the former Post Office boss lose her honour reached over a million signatures.

The ITV drama, where Vennells is played by Lia Williams, follows the Horizon scandal where Post Office workers were falsely accused and in some cases imprisoned after their computer system incorrectly logged their outlet's finances.

Vennells was chief executive of Post Office Limited between 2012 and 2019, and during the time she was in charge the Post Office repeatedly denied there was an issue with the Horizon system.

She had been awarded a CBE in December 2018, but following the broadcasting of Mr Bates vs the Post Office calls for her to hand back the honour had intensified.

Ted Talk

In a statement, Ms Vennells said: “I continue to support and focus on co-operating with the Inquiry and expect to be giving evidence in the coming months.

“I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the Inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence.

“I am, however, aware of the calls from subpostmasters and others to return my CBE.

“I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.

“I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.

“I now intend to continue to focus on assisting the Inquiry and will not make any further public comment until it has concluded.”

Alan Bates turned down an OBE when the honour was offered to him, saying that the first thing which came to his mind then was Vennells still having her CBE.