A petition to strip the ex-chief of the Post Office of her CBE has been signed by over 790,000 people in just a matter of hours.
The signees are calling for Paula Vennells to be stripped of the CBE she was given in 2019 due to her role in the wrongful prosecution of over 500 Post Office staff.
The staff, whose convictions for stealing against the company were quashed in 2019, were prosecuted after a computer fault with the Horizon computer system used by the Post Office. Ms Vennells was given a CBE for services to the Post Office in the 2019 New Year’s Honours list.
The petition, which can be viewed here, says: “Evidence has been produced that the Post Office engaged in a mass cover-up which led to the wrongful prosecution of 550 Post Office Staff many of whom were subsequently jailed, bankrupted and in some cases, sadly took their own lives.
“Having been handed a CBE for services to the Post Office, and moved out into other senior positions in government and healthcare, it is only right that this award is now withdrawn through the process of forfeiture.
“Paula Vennells has subsequently refused to answer questions from these staff as well as the media and has refused to apologise for the cover-up, misery and trauma caused which has brought not only herself but the Post Office, the honours system and government into disrepute.”
This is not the first time Ms Vennel’s CBE has been brought into question. In early 2020, Labour MP Kevan Jones said: “What happened? She got a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list for services to the Post Office. That is just rubbing salt into the wounds of these innocent people.
“There is a case for her having that honour removed, and I would like to know how she got it in the first place when the court case is ongoing. Added to that, she is now chair of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Again, I would like to know why and what due diligence was done on her as an individual.”
