Post Office: Paula Vennells opposed stopping postmaster prosecutions
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells ignored calls from the organisationās top management team to halt sub-postmaster prosecutions, the Horizon IT inquiry has heard.
Former top in-house lawyer Chris Aujard said that in 2013 the executive committee āwere in favour of ceasing prosecutions entirelyā, but Ms Vennells said ālimitedā prosecutions should continue.
The inquiry is investigating the wrongful conviction of hundreds of sub-postmasters on the basis of evidence from the faulty Horizon software.
Ms Vennells said she is ātruly sorry for the devastation caused to the Sub-Postmasters and their families”.
She added that she is co-operating with the inquiry and āwill not make any further public comment until it has concludedā.
On Wednesday, Mr Aujard told the inquiry he was opposed to the way sub-postmasters were being prosecuted in 2013.
His said his personal view was that ācriminal prosecutions cause great stress and anxiety and didnāt have a place in a business such as the Post Officeā.
When asked whether Ms Vennells seemed in favour of continuing to pursue cases using evidence from Horizon, Mr Aujard said she was not specific at the time.
Mr Aujard was the Post Officeās top lawyer from 2013 to 2015, during which time the independent forensic accountants Second Sight, who played a key role in exposing the scandal, were sacked.
When asked at the inquiry if the dismissal of Second Sight lacked fairness and transparency, Mr Aujard said: āThatās correct – certainly fairness.ā
At the beginning of his session, Mr Aujard apologised to the wrongfully convicted sub-postmasters and their families for the āanguish and sufferingā they have had to endure, adding the inquiry has come āfar too lateā for many of the victims.
Earlier in the day, the inquiry also heard from Mr Aujardās predecessor Susan Crichton, who said she was āput into a position where I couldnāt do my jobā.
She added that former Post Office lawyers Rob Wilson and Jarnail Singh had a “rather unhealthy view” of sub-postmasters.
On Tuesday, the first day of her testimony, Ms Crichton apologised to the sub-postmasters “for the suffering caused to you and your families” and hoped that giving evidence would mean “something like this never happens again”.