Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells apologises to Alan Bates as she is quizzed at Horizon inquiry

Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has apologised specifically to former subpostmaster and campaigner Alan Bates as she began giving evidence at the Horizon IT inquiry. Addressing attendees at Aldwych House, she said she would like to repeat an apology she made to Mr Bates and a number of other individuals, in one of her witness statements.

In the statement, Ms Vennells said: "I also offer my apologies to Alan Bates, Ian Henderson, Ron Warmington, Lord Arbuthnot and all those who worked with them to secure justice for the subpostmasters."

Mr Bates has led the subpostmasters' campaign and was thrust further into the limelight earlier this year when the story was dramatised by ITV in Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Ex-chief executive Ms Vennells apologised for "all that subpostmasters and families... have suffered" as her evidence to the Horizon IT inquiry got under way. The 65-year-old ordained priest told the inquiry she was "too trusting" at the beginning of her evidence on Wednesday. She was given a self-incrimination warning by chairman Sir Wyn Williams, but told him: "Thank you Sir Wyn... I plan to answer all questions."

Issuing a short statement at the beginning of the hearing, Ms Vennells said: "I would just like to say, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do this, how sorry I am for all that subpostmasters and their families and others have suffered as a result of all of the matters that the inquiry is looking into. I followed and listened to all of the human impact statements and I was very affected by them."

As his first major question to Ms Vennells, counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC said: "Do you think you are the unluckiest CEO in the United Kingdom?"

Ms Vennells replied: "As the inquiry has heard, there was information I wasn't given and others didn't receive as well. One of my reflections of all of this - I was too trusting. I did probe and I did ask questions and I'm disappointed where information wasn't shared and it has been a very important time for me... to plug some of those gaps."

Ms Vennells denied there was a conspiracy at the Post Office to deny her information.

Counsel to the inquiry Jason Beer KC asked: "Was there a conspiracy at the Post Office, which lasted for nearly 12 years, involving a wide range of people, differing over time, to deny you information and to deny you documents and to falsely give you reassurance?"

Ms Vennells replied: "No, I don't believe that was the case." She went on: "I have been disappointed particularly more recently listening to evidence of the inquiry where I think I remember people knew more than perhaps either they remembered at the time or I knew of at the time.

"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."

Ms Vennells said "one of the biggest challenges" has been "realising how much went on at an individual postmaster level".

She said: "One of the biggest challenges as I have been going through all of this documentation is realising how much went on at an individual postmaster level. When a bug affected a large number of post offices... they were raised.

"But if a single subpostmaster made a call X number of times to a service centre, it wouldn't have been picked up and I think from a governance point of view there is a very important lesson around the issue of the institution and the individual. How does somebody as a chief executive of an institution that is large and complex have sight to what happens to an individual if they are affected by a bug?"

Asked if she did not believe there was a conspiracy to deny her information but rather that issues came out of the way the company was organised and structured, Ms Vennells said: "I think in the majority of cases yes that is true."

Asked who was responsible for organising and structuring the company, she said: "As CEO you are accountable for everything. You have experts to report to you."