Post Office scandal: Ex-boss Paula Vennells to hand back CBE
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells is handing back her CBE with immediate effect after facing mounting pressure over the Horizon IT scandal.
The scandal, which has been described as one of the most widespread miscarriages of justice the UK has seen, involved more than 700 sub-postmasters who were prosecuted based on information from faulty software. Some people went to prison for false accounting and theft, while many were financially ruined.
More than a million people have signed a petition calling for Ms. Vennells to hand back her CBE. In a statement, she said she had listened to the sub-postmasters and others calling for her to return her CBE, adding that she was “truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families.”
Ms. Vennells was Post Office chief executive between 2012 and 2019, and received the CBE for services to the Post Office and to charity. Despite her offer, the only person who can strip someone of an honor is King Charles. People can indicate they would like to renounce their honor, as Ms. Vennells has now done, but doing so has no formal effect until the King is advised by the Forfeiture Committee and acts on its advice.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called her decision to hand back the CBE a “token gesture”. They are also calling for Ms. Vennells to return performance-related bonuses she received during her role at the Post Office.
The scandal began in 1999 and victims are still fighting to have their convictions overturned or to secure full compensation. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said the idea of using legislation to quash convictions of all Post Office workers caught up in the scandal was under “active consideration.” However, former attorney general Dominic Grieve disagrees, stating that each case “ought to be considered on its own merits” and sent to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates alleged miscarriages of justice.
Despite Ms. Vennells’ decision to return the CBE, many are still seeking justice for the sub-postmasters affected by the scandal.