The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is facing growing calls to stand down because of his links to Post Office boss, Paula Vennells, who he is said to have supported for the Bishop of London role in 2017 – the third most senior role in the Church of England.
Queen Elizabeth II’s former Chaplain, Rev Canon Jeremy Haselock, has called for his resignation, after claims emerged Justin Welby endorsed Vennells for the position.
Writing on his social media, Rev Haselock said: “Surely this is the point at which Welby must go. Another demonstration of his complete lack of sound judgement.”
He added: “His backing for this woman for episcopal office shows how completely he fails to understand the nature of that office. His total failure to bring pastoral care to the fore during the pandemic and the disastrous decisions he made at that time show his complete and utter lack of understanding of the Church and its ministry.”
He concluded: “His has been a terrible primary and clutching his Royal Victorian Order, he should go.”
Vennells, chief executive of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019, returned her CBE last week over the wrongful prosecution of over 700 sub-postmasters, who were blamed after the faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their sites.
More than 1.2 million people had signed a petition for her to be stripped of her title.
In a statement, she said: “I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.”
It emerged Ms Vennells was shortlisted to become Bishop of London in 2017 and was interviewed for the role but was not appointed. This is despite suggestions that sub-postmasters had been wrongly prosecuted having emerged at the time.
The Mail Online also reports Ms Vennells, 65, was ordained as a priest in 2005, and had been an associate minister in the diocese of St Albans while at the same time running the Post Office.
At Aldwych House in London, on January 16, the Post Office public inquiry is taking place. Fujitsu, the company that created the faulty IT software that led to the convictions of hundreds of sub-postmasters and postmistresses, will have questions put to two of its employees.
Fewer than 100 convictions have been overturned to date, in what has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in the UK.
Former postmaster, Alan Bates, led and won a legal battle after himself falling victim to the faults. His victory paved the way for dozens of convictions to be overturned.
The ITV drama, ‘Mr Bates vs the Post Office’, has since brought the scandal to the forefront of media attention.
Last week the government pledged to bring in a new law to “swiftly exonerate and compensate victims” of the scandal.
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, told the House of Commons on Wednesday that those previously convicted in England and Wales would be cleared of wrongdoing and compensated under a new law.
The Prime Minister said the government is determined to “right the wrongs” as he made the dramatic announcement at the first PMQs of the year.
The government confirmed it would introduce a one-off £75,000 payment for the 555 ex-postmasters whose group court case, led by Alan Bates, helped to expose the injustice.
