Ms Vennells broke down again as she was asked about her response to the death of Martin Griffiths, a subpostmaster who died by suicide after walking in front of a bus after being pursued for a shortfall.
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells broke down in tears today as she was quizzed over the suicide of a postmaster who was wrongly accused of fraud.
Ms Vennells, who was chief executive at the company from 2012 to 2019, began her evidence by turning directly to campaigners and victims, sat a short distance away and issued a grovelling apology, saying she was 'very, very sorry'. Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells is seen breaking down in tears as she gave evidence at the Horizon IT inquiry today Martin Griffiths, 59, who took his own life in 2013 after he was falsely suspected of stealing money from a Post Office in Ellesmere Port
Asked by inquiry lawyer Mr Beer if she was asking her team to 'dig' into Mr Griffiths' records, Ms Vennells replied: 'I'm so sorry. I had as Chief Executive to pass this information onto group executives and board colleagues. Vennells added that accusations of blame by Alan Bates after Martin Griffiths's death were 'unhelpful'.
Paula Vennells seen arriving at the post office Enquiry this morning surrounded by police officers and members of the pressPost Office boss Paula Vennells gestures as she gives evidence to the inquiry at Aldwych House, central London She later appeared to become emotional as she discussed reading details of complaints from eight subpostmasters in 2013, which she described as 'very disturbing'.
Mr Griffiths was sacked from his job in July of that year and he was forced to use his parents' life savings to pay off the sum.On September 23, 2013, Mr Griffiths parked his car on the A41 in Ellesmere Port after leaving a note for his loved ones and walked in front of a bus.
'I certainly didn't read into this that the Post Office was conducting criminal investigations to the level that I later understood.'Ms Vennells said: 'I should have known and I should have asked more questions. I and others who also didn't know should have dug much more deeply into this. It was a serious mistake that I didn't understand before 2012 the extent of what this meant.
Vennells continued: 'I would just like to say, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do this in person, how sorry I am for all that subpostmasters and their families and others who suffered as a result of all of the matters that the inquiry has been looking into for so long.' Ms Vennells said she was 'too trusting' when Jason Beer KC, lead lawyer for the inquiry, opened his questioning by asking if she was 'the unluckiest CEO in the United Kingdom.'
She told the inquiry: 'I asked questions, I oversaw the strategy which would have introduced changes where we felt it was appropriate to the organisation.Ms Vennells, pictured giving evidence as part of phases five and six of the Post Office inquiry, which is looking at governance, redress and how the Post Office and others responded to the scandal
She denied Mr Beer's suggestion that the comment in her witness statement, submitted less than two months ago but read for the first time in public today, was 'a perpetuation of a culture that ran through the Post Office of failing to take responsibility for the use of powers that it elected to use, and indeed use robustly, and instead blame the IT'.
Ms Vennells replied: 'I was told multiple times … that there had been no evidence found. I was told that nothing had been found.' Mr Beer said: 'Why were you telling Parliamentarians every prosecution involving the Horizon system had been successful and had found in favour of the Post Office?' Mark Kelly, 45, who was a subpostmaster in Swansea from 2003 to 2006, said: 'The apology I think was quite well-rehearsed, the speech of the apology and also the response to the questions.
Inquiry lawyer Mr Beer asked: 'How did it come about that false information was perpetuated, regurgitated, deployed in this way?'Ms Vennells, wearing a grey trouser suit and orange scarf, was met by bustling crowds as she arrived at the inquiry centre in central London shortly before 8am, two hours before her eagerly-awaited evidence began.
Prosecutions continued to happen under Ms Vennells' watch despite repeatedly being told there were concerns about the reliability of the evidence. Earlier, speaking ahead of her appearance, Ms Hamilton has said she Vennells 'knew' people were being wrongly convicted. The probe previously heard Ms Vennells had hoped that there would not be an independent inquiry - even having her number blocked by ex-head of IT Lesley Sewell after seeking her help to avoid one.
In a letter to Lord James Arbuthnot, Ms Hamilton's then-MP, in 2012, Ms Vennells wrote: 'There has been no evidence to support any of the allegations and we have no reason to doubt the integrity of the system, which we remain confident is robust and fit for purpose.' Speaking before Ms Vennells gave evidence, Mr Castleton said: 'It's a good platform for her to finally speak. She's not been able to, for whatever reason, speak for all these years. I think it's important that she is listened to and heard and then we can all judge that.'Asked what message he would send to Ms Vennells if he could, Mr Castleton said: 'This is your chance to put it out there. The world's listening, if you like. Do what you feel is right.
She also suggested that 'temptation was an issue' for branch workers, and that some had been 'borrowing' money from the tills. The email from Ms Vennells to Ron Warmington, a forensic accountant with firm Second Sight who were drafted in to review independently the Horizon system, read: 'Apart from finding them very disturbing , I am now even better informed.
Jason Beer KC previously told the probe she made a false statement in 2012 to then Conservative MP Oliver Letwin when she wrote about the prosecution of subpostmasters, in which she said: 'In every instance, the court has found in our favour.'
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