The Reverend

Paula Vennells
Vennells in 2016
BornPaula Anne Vennells
(1959-02-21) 21 February 1959
Alma materUniversity of Bradford
Occupation
Known forPost Office scandal
Spouse(s)John
Children2

Paula Anne Vennells (born 21 February 1959) is a British former businesswoman who was the chief executive officer of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019. She is also an Anglican priest.

Under her leadership, the Post Office prosecuted sub-postmasters for theft, false accounting and fraud, despite evidence that its Horizon computer system was insecure, unreliable and could incorrectly show financial discrepancies.

In 2019 she became the chair of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, but in December 2020 left the role. In April 2021, following the quashing of 39 sub-postmasters' convictions, she resigned from her duties as an Anglican priest and from directorships at the retailer Dunelm and the supermarket chain Morrisons. Vennells was appointed a CBE in 2019.

Early life and education

Born on 21 February 1959 as Paula Anne Vennells,[1][2] she grew up in Denton, Lancashire.[3] Having won a funded place, she was educated at the Manchester High School for Girls, an all-girls private school in Manchester.[3] She then studied Russian, French and economics at the University of Bradford, graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.[4][1][5]

Career

Vennells began her career as a graduate trainee at Unilever in 1981, and went on to work for L'Oréal, Dixons Retail, Argos, and Whitbread.[3][5] In 2007 she joined the Post Office as group network director.[6] On 1 April 2012, she became its chief executive officer (CEO).[7] During her time as CEO, the Post Office went from losing £120 million a year to making a profit.[8]

In February 2019 it was announced that she would step down from her Post Office role, and that month was appointed as a non-executive board member at the Cabinet Office.[9] In April that year she took over as the chair of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; she resigned from this role in 2021.[10][11]

From 2002 to 2005, Vennells trained for holy orders on the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course.[1] She was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 2005 and as a priest in 2006.[1] She has served as a non-stipendiary minister at the Church of St Owen, Bromham, in the Diocese of St Albans.[1][12] On 10 January 2024, BBC News reported sources told them that, around 2017 when Richard Chartres's tenure as Bishop of London was drawing to a close, Vennells had been interviewed for the post and reached the final shortlist of three.[13] She relinquished her clerical duties in 2021, but remains an ordained priest.[14] Her membership of the Church of England's Ethical Investment Advisory Group was terminated in 2021.[15]

Post Office scandal

Vennells was the CEO of Post Office Ltd during the latter part of the British Post Office scandal, which took place between 1999 and 2015 and involved over 700 sub-postmasters being wrongly convicted of theft, false accounting and fraud, due to shortfalls at their branches that were in fact errors of the Horizon accounting software used by the Post Office. In 2013, Vennells hired forensic accounting firm Second Sight, headed up by Ron Warmington, to investigate the Horizon software losses. Warmington discovered the system was flawed and faulty, but Vennells was unhappy with Warmington's report and terminated their contract.[16]

Acting as a private prosecutor, the Post Office repeatedly failed to make full disclosure of known Horizon problems either to defendants or to the courts. This happened in hundreds of cases and, according to the Criminal Cases Review Commission is "the most widespread miscarriage of justice the CCRC has ever seen and represents the biggest single series of wrongful convictions in British legal history".[17]

In Bates & Others v Post Office Ltd, a High Court case related to the scandal, the presiding judge, Mr Justice Fraser described the Post Office's approach to the case as "institutional obstinacy". Vennells subsequently issued a statement, saying: "It was and remains a source of great regret to me that these colleagues and their families were affected over so many years. I am truly sorry we were unable to find both a solution and a resolution outside of litigation and for the distress this caused."[18] Following the conclusion of the case, Vennells's tenure as CEO was criticised in the British Parliament; the Conservative peer Lord Arbuthnot, for example, stated that "The hallmark of Paula Vennells' time as CEO was that she was willing to accept appalling advice from people in her management and legal teams. The consequences of this were far-reaching for the Post Office and devastating for the sub-postmasters."[19]

In early March 2020, Vennells resigned her position as a non-executive board member at the Cabinet Office.[20][21] The Care Quality Commission (CQC) discussed concerns about Vennells's continuing role in the NHS on 8 July 2020.[22] On 3 December 2020, it was announced that Vennells would step down as chair of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in April 2021, for personal reasons.

In a BBC Panorama programme screened on 8 June 2020, reporter Nick Wallis is seen phoning Vennells, who terminates the call rather than answer his questions. Wallis says "this is one of the biggest frustrations of covering this story ... the consistent refusal of the chief executive and the people at the top to answer serious questions about what has been happening".[23]

In June 2020, the Criminal Cases Review Commission sent 47 cases in which sub-postmasters had been prosecuted to the Court of Appeal as potential miscarriages of justice.[24] During the case, the Post Office's behaviour under Vennells's leadership was described as an instance of "appalling and shameful behaviour".[25] In April 2021, thirty-nine of the convicted former postmasters had their convictions quashed, with a further twenty-two cases still being investigated by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. A few days later, Vennells agreed to step back from her duties as an associate minister.[26] The Bishop of St Albans, (himself the son of a retired sub-postmaster) said that it was "right" that Vennells did so.[26][27] She also apologised, saying "I am truly sorry for the suffering caused to the 39 sub-postmasters as a result of their convictions which were overturned last week".

On the same day, she resigned her non-executive directorships at UK supermarket chain Morrisons and furnishings group Dunelm.[28] She also resigned as a governor of Bedford School, a position she had held since 2014.[29] In May 2021 she left the Church of England's Ethical Investment Advisory Group on which she had previously served.[15]

Vennells was portrayed by Lia Williams in a four-part television drama series, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, broadcast on ITV in January 2024 and released in its entirety on ITVX.[30]

Honours

In the 2019 New Year Honours, Vennells was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to the Post Office and to charity".[31]

In 2021, following the successful appeals of sub-postmasters prosecuted and convicted in the Post Office scandal, the Communication Workers Union called for Vennells to be stripped of her CBE honour.[32] In the same year, an online petition was created on the website 38 Degrees, which requested that the Honours Forfeiture Committee revoke Vennells's CBE; in January 2024, following the broadcast of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, it attracted significant attention and by 9 January had received 1.2 million signatures.[33] Alan Bates, the leader of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, said that he turned down the appointment as OBE for his campaigning because Vennells still had her honour.[34]

On 8 January 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman said he would "strongly support" the Honours Forfeiture Committee if it decided to look at removing Vennells's CBE appointment. In a statement issued on 9 January, Vennells stated that she would return her CBE "with immediate effect".[35] This action has no formal effect as only the monarch, on the advice of the Honours Forfeiture Committee, can annul honours.[36][37]

Personal life

Vennells met her husband John at the Bradford University dinghy club.[38] He was former global vice-president at the international engineering firm ABB. They have two adult sons,[3] and, as of January 2024, live near Bedford.[39] She listed her recreational activities in 2015 as cycling, skiing and attending church.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Paula Anne Vennells". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  2. ↑ "New Year honours in the Anglia region", ITV, 28 December 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2024
  3. 1 2 3 4 Shah, Oliver (17 August 2014). "Part time curate ordained to deliver salvation for Post Office". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 Ashton, James (31 August 2015). "Paula Vennells interview: Post Office chief banks on financial services in the digital age". Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 Armitstead, Louise (8 December 2013). "Monday interview: Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Higginson, Richard. "Paula Vennells: a profile". Faith in Business. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "Our leadership". Post Office. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Post Office Group Chief Executive, Paula Vennells, Awarded CBE in New Year's Honours List". Mynewsdesk. 28 December 2018. Archived from the original on 10 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  9. ↑ "Paula Vennells CBE". gov.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Press release: Three new Cabinet Office Non-Executive Board Members announced". gov.uk. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "Trust chair to step down next April". www.imperial.nhs.uk. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "The Benefice Ministerial Team". Bromham Benefice. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  13. ↑ Zeffman, Henry; Farley, Harry (9 January 2024). "Paula Vennells: Ex-Post Office boss was shortlisted to be Bishop of London". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  14. ↑ Witherow, Tom; Burgess, Kaya; Allegretti, Aubrey (10 January 2024). "MPs push for emergency law to quash postmaster convictions". The Times. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  15. 1 2 Ethical Investment Advisory Group Annual Review 2020/21 (PDF) (Report). Church of England. June 2021. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024. In May 2021, after a temporary leave of absence, Paula Vennells stepped down from the EIAG
  16. ↑ "Second Sight's Ron Warmington breaks his silence". Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  17. ↑ "The CCRC and Post Office/ Horizon cases". ccrc.gov.uk. Criminal Cases Review Commission. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Glass, Katie. "Victims of the Post Office's sub-postmaster scandal on their decade of hell". The Times. Archived from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  19. ↑ Flinders, Karl (4 June 2020). "MPs' investigation into Post Office Horizon IT scandal bares teeth". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  20. ↑ Kevan Jones Commons, 19 March 2020 col. 1224 Horizon Settlement: Future Governance of Post Office Ltd
  21. ↑ "Cabinet Office Annual Report 2019–20" (PDF). Cabinet Office. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  22. ↑ Flinders, Karl (22 June 2020). "Care Quality Commission to discuss concerns over Paula Vennells' NHS role". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  23. ↑ Presenter: Nick Wallis (8 June 2020). "Scandal at the Post Office". Panorama. 26:00 minutes in. BBC. BBC One.
  24. ↑ Flinders, Karl. "Post Office IT scandal executive forced out of job at Football Association of Wales". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  25. ↑ Lea, Robert. "Post Office falls to loss after Horizon IT scandal". The Times. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  26. 1 2 PA, Luke Powell; Kay, Jaimie (26 April 2021). "Herts minister 'truly sorry' after dozens of post workers wrongly convicted". Herts Live. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  27. ↑ "Ex-Post Office head apologises to workers after convictions quashed". The Guardian. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  28. ↑ "Ex-Post Office chief Vennells quits Morrisons and Dunelm boards". Sky News. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  29. ↑ "Ex-Post Office chief stands down as Bromham church minister and Bedford School governor". Bedford Independent. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  30. ↑ Mr Bates vs. The Post Office (TV Mini Series 2024) - IMDb, retrieved 9 January 2024
  31. ↑ "No. 62507". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2018. p. N9.
  32. ↑ "Ex-Post Office chief should be stripped of CBE over Horizon scandal, union says". Jersey Evening Post. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  33. ↑ "Petition to strip ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells of CBE passes 1m". Yahoo News. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  34. ↑ Patrick, Holly (2 January 2024). "Real-life Mr Bates reveals why he turned down OBE for Post Office campaigning". Independent.
  35. ↑ Sparrow, Andrew (9 January 2024). "Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to hand back CBE with immediate effect in wake of Horizon scandal – UK politics live". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  36. ↑ Slow, Oliver; Preskey, Natasha (9 January 2024). "Paula Vennells: Ex-Post Office boss handing back CBE over IT scandal". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  37. ↑ "Having honours taken away (forfeiture)". GOV.UK. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  38. ↑ Fenton, Rosaleen; Otter, Saffron (9 January 2024). "Post Office boss Paula Vennells now from 'church resignation' to giving CBE back". The Mirror. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  39. ↑ Witherow, Tom (12 January 2024). "Paula Vennells CBE: the ex-Post Office boss at the heart of the Horizon scandal" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
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