Paula Vennells, the former Post Office boss, declined to respond to questions regarding the Horizon scandal during her first public appearance since the airing of the ITV drama that spotlighted the issue.
Ms Vennells, spotted cycling on Sunday morning, was probed about whether she had knowingly misled MPs amid increasing evidence of a cover-up.
Leaked recordings indicate she knew about a “covert operations team” capable of remotely accessing the Horizon system used by sub-postmasters, which led to over 900 wrongful convictions.
Channel 4 News caught up with Ms Vennells leaving a church on Sunday morning and inquired if she had anything to say, whether she had “lied to MPs”, and if there was “a cover-up”.
“There is a lot of evidence that there has been a cover-up – have you anything to say?” Alex Thomson, from Channel 4 News, asked as she rode away.
This marked her first public appearance since the ITV series “Mr Bates vs The Post Office” aired earlier this year.
Last month, the drama’s producer Patrick Spence suggested Ms Vennells was “in hiding” ahead of her appearance at the official inquiry into the scandal. The inquiry is scheduled to restart next week, with Ms Vennells expected to testify.
The issue of remote access to sub-postmasters’ accounts by the Fujitsu Horizon system has been key to the scandal inquiry and accusations of a cover-up.
In 2015, the former Post Office CEO denied in correspondence to Parliament that remote access was possible.
In written evidence to the business, innovation, and skills committee inquiry, the Post Office stated: “There is no functionality in Horizon for either a branch, Post Office, or Fujitsu to edit, manipulate or remove transaction data once it has been recorded in a branch’s accounts.”
MPs raised doubts about the reliability of the £1 billion system, yet under Vennells’ leadership, the Post Office persisted in prosecuting sub-postmasters despite evidence of faults with the system. An investigation firm was hired by the Post Office, only to be dismissed before finishing its work.
In 2015, Ms. Vennells informed the Commons business select committee that “we have no evidence” of miscarriages of justice. However, by the time she left the Post Office in 2019, having earned almost £5million, it was on the verge of losing a High Court battle.
On Friday, Nadhim Zahawi told ITV News he believed Ms Vennells had been misled parliament, including himself, in 2015.
The former Chancellor urged an investigation into corporate manslaughter by the Post Office following the suicides of Horizon victims. At least four sub-postmasters are known to have committed suicide.
This follows Channel 4 News obtaining a recording from 2013 in which Susan Crichton, the Post Office’s chief lawyer, twice confirmed that Ms Vennells had been informed about a “covert operations team” capable of remotely accessing the Horizon system and adjusting branches’ accounts.
