Fire alarm stops Paula Vennells’ testimony to Post Office inquiry ten minutes in

Paula Vennells, centre, was mobbed by photographers and journalists on her way in (Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells had to pause her testimony to the Horizon inquiry ten minutes in due to a planned fire alarm.

Victims of the scandal have waited ten years for the ex-CEO to speak in public again, for the first time since the full scale of the miscarriage of justice was revealed.

More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 over apparent missing money at their branches which was, in fact, the fault of faulty accounting software.

Ms Vennells began her three days in front of the inquiry with apologies to the affected staff and their families, and to specific individuals including the campaigner Alan Bates.

After Jason Beer KC listed all the bugs and incidents she denied awareness of in her witness statement, he asked her if she believed there was a conspiracy at the Post Office to deny her information and falsely give her reassurance.

She responded: ‘I have no sense that there was any conspiracy at all. My deep sorrow in this is that I think that individuals, myself included, made mistakes, didn’t see things, didn’t hear things.

‘I may be wrong but that wasn’t the impression that I had at the time, I have more questions now but a conspiracy feels too far-fetched.’

She was surrounded by photographers and journalists as she made her way into Aldwych House in central London this morning.

The level of attention paid to the inquiry, which launched in January 2020, has skyrocketed following the enormous success of ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office earlier this year.

Within a week of the final episode airing, Ms Vennells – who was played by Lia Williams on the show – announced she would be handing back the CBE she was awarded in 2019.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also soon announced new legislation to exonerate sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted in the Horizon scandal.

The law, which applies only to England and Wales, is expected to come into effect at the end of July. Emergency legislation is also being introduced by the Scottish Government.

Ms Vennells was given a CBE for her role managing the Post Office in 2019 (Picture: PA)

Hundreds of victims are still waiting to receive compensation despite the announcement of £600,000 payouts last September.

Some have died in the meantime.

Around 180 postmasters are present in the gallery of the hearing room at Aldwych House, completely filling the space.

One of them, Lee Castleton, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he was not looking for an apology from the ex-CEO.

He said: ‘I think the days have gone a long, long time ago that it makes any difference to me personally… I’m just looking forward to the truth.’

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