Real story of Post Office 'gruesome twosome' Paula Vennells and sidekick Angela
Hundreds of innocent postal workers were wrongly convicted of fraud and lost their businesses and savings while former CEO Paula Vennells was in charge of the Post Office.
The shocking Post Office scandal, which is being retold in ITV's new drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, became the UK's worst-ever miscarriage of justice when 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly blamed for cash 'vanishing' from tills between 1999 and 2015.
However, the new computer system called Horizon was at fault for the false accounting. Vennells was the boss when village post office shop workers were taken to court and wrongly convicted of theft, with some sacked, thrown in prison and hit with immense mental distress. Four people even took their own lives.
The organisation failed to believe that Horizon was at fault, having been assured it was virtually fool-proof. That was until former sub-postmaster Alan Bates campaigned for 20 years to finally get justice and £58million compensation for the victims. Here, we take a look at who the real-life bosses - dubbed the 'gruesome twosome' - were in the scandal, and where they are now.
Who is Paula Vennells?
Paula Vennells was CEO of The Post Office from 2012 to 2019 while the Post Office scandal ruined the lives of victimsPaula Vennells, portrayed by actress Lia Williams in the ITV series, is an ex-British businesswoman and former Anglican priest. She was Chief Executive Officer of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019, during which time the organisation went from losing £120million a year to making a profit. Vennells has been accused of covering up the scandal and insisting the Horizon computer system was "robust" - resulting in hundreds of post workers wrongly convicted in court.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office viewers 'sick to their stomach' minutes into show
When the scandal came to light, Vennells - who was also a priest in St Albans - had already stepped down from her role as CEO at the Post Office and had begun working for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust - a role she would later quit for "personal reasons". Vennells issued an apology in 2019 that said: "I am truly sorry we were unable to find both a solution and a resolution outside of litigation and for the distress this caused." But some deemed it to be a 'non-apology'.
Vennells, now 64, promised to "work with the government inquiry to ensure that staff and the public get the answers they deserve" after more convictions were quashed in 2021. But she still left her job with a £400,000 bonus and a CBE for "services to the Post Office and charity" in the 2019 New Year's Honours list. This has been widely criticised by many, with Labour MP Kevan Jones trying to get the honour removed.
Vennells also stood down from positions on multiple boards following the scandal, saying in 2021: "It is obvious that my involvement with the Post Office has become a distraction from the good work undertaken by the boards I serve. I have therefore stepped down with immediate effect from all my board positions." A representative for Vennells told the Mirror that she is determined to assist in whatever way she can, so that lessons are learned.
Who is Angela van den Bogerd?
Angela van den Bogerd worked closely with Vennells and played a central role at the court hearings (media wales)Angela van den Bogerd, portrayed by Katherine Kelly in the four-part drama, played a central role at the hearings surrounding the scandal. She had various roles at the organisation over 33 years, working her way up from behind the counter at a Post Office to becoming the company's director and head of partnerships.
In 2018, she was appointed the business improvement director. Van den Bogerd worked very closely with CEO Vennells and reportedly handled complaints about Horizon from 2010. She was part of a working group to deal with the scandal from 2014, until she left the organisation in 2020. Later that year, she was appointed head of people at the Football Association of Wales, but left in 2021.
The businesswoman was criticised by the high court judge, Justice Fraser, during the hearings. The judge said, as reported by the BBC, that Van den Bogerd "did not give me frank evidence, and sought to obfuscate matters, and mislead me". She was also blamed by sub-postmasters for many of the Post Office's failings.
In 2020, the Post Office paid out a £57.75m settlement after more than 550 claimants brought group legal action over the Horizon system, which was found to contain software flaws that caused financial shortfalls in the sub-postmasters' branch accounts over a number of years. An investigation later revealed Post Office managers knew IT problems could be to blame for missing money but still prosecuted staff.
A Post Office spokesman said: "We have taken determined action to address past events and we are working to reform the Post Office, to forge an open and transparent relationship with the thousands of current postmasters providing customers with vital services in the UK's communities. We agreed a comprehensive resolution last year with claimants in group civil litigation, following successful independent mediation. We sincerely apologise to those affected."
- Mr Bates Vs The Post Office is available to stream on ITVX now.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
