Paula Vennells – Live: Ex-postmaster accused of ‘crocodile tears’ as she battles Horizon probe

Campaign manager Alan Bates said he met “senior” Metropolitan Police staff on Wednesday morning to discuss possible prosecutions following the Post Office Horizon scandal.

He said: “They will certainly investigate, I got that assurance and I think the group needs that as an assurance and it’s something we’ve never been sure of until today.”

Paula Vennells said she accepted statements from her letters to MPs in response to questions about Horizon as wrong, in her first witness statement.

The inquiry asked Ms Vennells to comment on statements in her letters to three MPs, including: how she told MP Nicholas Brown that “the system has proved very robust since its introduction”; a statement to Mike Weir MP that the Post Office is “fully confident that the Horizon computer system… has enabled sub-postals to accurately account for the transactions they undertake in their branch”; and her statement to Mike Weir in Parliament that there was “no evidence at all that the Horizon system was in any way at fault in respect of any financial irregularities discovered in the subpostman’s account”.

She said she “believes these statements to be true”, adding that they are “justified by professional knowledge, as I understand that these statements came from, or were approved by, specialist senior managers with detailed knowledge of the Horizon system and the operation of SPM accounts”. .

Ms Vennells added: “I accept that these statements were wrong”.

Paula Vennells is accused of asking her team to “dig” through the files of Martin Griffiths, who stood in front of a bus after he was sacked from the Post Office in 2013.

The former postmaster general was questioned by the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal about an email she sent after his suicide attempt suggesting she had heard of “previous mental and family problems”.

In an email to postmasters, Ms Vennells said: “Can you tell me what background we have on Martin? I’ve heard, but haven’t seen an official report yet, that there were previous mental health issues and potential family issues.”

Inquest leader Jason Beer KC asked if Ms Vennells asked her team to “dig through Mr Griffiths’ medical records to look for information or evidence that he took his own life due to mental or family issues?”

Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:

A former subpostman who tried to alert the post office to the Horizon IT system emailed Paula Vennells when she was chief executive, saying: “I wonder what kind of god you worship”.

In 2015, Tim McCormack wrote to Ms Vennells, an ordained priest, warning her that he had “clear and indisputable evidence of an occasional error at Horizon which can and is causing thousands of pounds in losses to subpostmen”.

Giving evidence at the inquest, Ms Vennells denied sharing Post Office lawyer Rodric Williams’ view that Mr McCormack was a bluff, but said she did not remember what she did with the sub-postmaster’s email.

The inquest heard Mr McCormack sent another message to Ms Vennells in July 2016, saying: “Typical head-in-the-sand response from a team you trust too much. Once the police investigation is complete it is very likely, indeed likely, that members of your staff will be sent to prison. Your role in this will not go unnoticed.”

He added, “I wonder what kind of god you worship.”

Campaign manager Alan Bates said there was “no sympathy” for Paula Vennells after her tears.

Speaking outside Aldwych House after Ms Vennells gave evidence, Mr Bates said: “The whole thing is upsetting for everyone, including so many victims. I really have no sympathy.”

Asked if he thought she was genuinely sorry, he added: “I wonder about these apologies, they’re just words.”

Campaign manager Alan Bates said Paula Vennells’ evidence was “like figure skating on the head of a pin”.

Speaking outside Aldwych House after Ms Vennells gave evidence, Mr Bates said: “It was like figure skating on the head of a pin all day, isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing?

“It’s only the first day of three, so I don’t know where we’ll end up, but it was good to see her in the stands.”

Inquest leader Sir Wyn Williams thanked those in the gallery for their restraint during today’s proceedings, as the hearing was adjourned until today.

He said: “May I say to members of the public and keynote speakers who were present that there could have been a lot more verbal intervention than there was from the podium – and I am very grateful to you for your restrained behavior on the day.

“But it doesn’t encourage you to be less restrained, it encourages you to be, if anything, even more restrained for the rest of this week.”

The CWU postal workers union released a video of Vennells’ tearful testimony accusing her of producing “crocodile tears”.

They added: “No tears when postmasters tragically took their own lives due to stress. No tears when the postmasters were imprisoned. “No tears when the postmasters turned the whole community against them. It’s too late for tears now. Paula Vennells must answer.”

Sir Wyn Williams asks just before the break about the Post Office’s strategy and whether Vennells has been advised to be “very precise, very careful and very careful” about what you told MPs.

She answers: “I would [agree] but I’m not sure I would have noticed it that morning.”

It takes her about five seconds to begin her answer: “Looking back because it’s possible…

He interjects, “If you need time to think about it, you can tell me in the morning,” to laughter from the gallery.

She seems to be starting to tear up again.