Paula Vennells knew of Horizon problems 2 years before telling MPs there was no issue, recordings reveal
POST Office boss Paula Vennells was told of problems with the Horizon system two years before she told MPs there was no issue, secret audio recordings revealed last night.
The then CEO was warned in 2013 during a meeting with independent investigators.
They told her of claims sub-postmasters’ branch accounts could be accessed remotely — something the Post Office was denying. And she was also told her company’s denials of faults with the system was “dangerous” and “stupid”.
A recording of the meeting was obtained by ITV News.
The meeting came as the Post Office was still taking sub-postmasters to court over branch shortfalls.
Hundreds were wrongly convicted of fraud and other offences between 1999 and 2015. It later emerged staff at Fujitsu, which built the IT system, were able to access the accounts remotely and were fixing bugs caused by the faulty programme.
The recording appears to show Ms Vennells was told that Fujitsu staff could do this. Yet two years later in 2015 she told MPs it was “not possible” to be remotely accessed.
Ms Vennells, who returned her CBE in February, has not commented on the recording being released. POST Office boss Paula Vennells was told of problems with the Horizon system two years before she told MPs there was no issue, secret audio recordings revealed last night.
The then CEO was warned in 2013 during a meeting with independent investigators.
They told her of claims sub-postmasters’ branch accounts could be accessed remotely — something the Post Office was denying. And she was also told her company’s denials of faults with the system was “dangerous” and “stupid”.
A recording of the meeting was obtained by ITV News.
The meeting came as the Post Office was still taking sub-postmasters to court over branch shortfalls.
Hundreds were wrongly convicted of fraud and other offences between 1999 and 2015. It later emerged staff at Fujitsu, which built the IT system, were able to access the accounts remotely and were fixing bugs caused by the faulty programme.
The recording appears to show Ms Vennells was told that Fujitsu staff could do this. Yet two years later in 2015 she told MPs it was “not possible” to be remotely accessed.
Ms Vennells, who returned her CBE in February, has not commented on the recording being released.