Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Who is Paula Vennells?

Paula Vennells joined the organisation in 2007 as group network director

Who is Paula Vennells?

FORMER Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells, who headed the Post Office from 2012 to 2019, apologised for the wrongful convictions of postmasters on Wednesday (22) during a public inquiry into the Horizon scandal.

Hundreds of postmasters, who ran community post offices, were convicted after a faulty IT system from Japanese company Fujitsu led to shortfalls in their accounts, and the state-run Post Office pursued them despite suggestions that it knew of the problems.


The 65-year-old ordained priest led the group during a period in which it continued to pursue sub-postmasters despite evidence, according to previous inquiry witnesses, that the software could be remotely accessed.

Vennells held the position of chief executive during the latter years of the Horizon scandal. Between 1999 and 2015, over 900 sub-postmasters faced wrongful prosecution due to flawed software falsely indicating discrepancies in branch accounts.

Despite maintaining a relatively private life, Vennells has become closely associated with the scandal.

Hailing from the north west of England, Vennells attended the University of Bradford, where she studied French, Russian, and Economics, and where she met her future husband, John.

Graduating in 1981, she commenced her business career at Unilever. Subsequently, she held management roles in companies such as Argos, Dixons, L'Oréal, Morrisons, Dunelm, and Whitbread.

Following her departure from the Post Office in 2019, Vennells served as a non-executive board member at the Cabinet Office for a year. Additionally, she assumed the position of chairman at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust but resigned in December 2020, citing personal reasons. However, it is her tenure at the Post Office that has come under intense scrutiny.

She joined the organisation in 2007 as group network director, she ascended to the role of chief executive in 2012, coinciding with the Post Office's separation from Royal Mail.

She was depicted by actress Lia Williams in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which aired earlier this year. Following the broadcast, she made a solitary public appearance, declining to address inquiries from a Channel 4 reporter regarding potential cover-ups at the Post Office, as she cycled away from a church cemetery.

The ITV production also underscored Vennells' dual role as an ordained priest, a path she pursued before her tenure at the Post Office. She embarked on training as a Church of England deacon from 2002 to 2005, ultimately becoming ordained in 2006.

Vennells served in various churches in Bedfordshire and was a candidate for the Bishop of London position in 2017. Although she relinquished her clerical duties in 2021, she retains her ordination.

In January this year, Vennells announced that she will return the CBE received from Queen Elizabeth II. A petition calling for her to be stripped of the CBE, handed out "for services to the Post Office and to charity", had garnered more than a million signatures.

Vennells, who received more than £4.5 million in salary and bonuses during her seven-year tenure, stepped down in 2019 before the Post Office agreed to pay £58m in a settlement with 555 sub-postmasters.

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less