Ex-Post Office chief and former Bedford School governor to hand back her CBE

Former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells has agreed to hand back her CBE with immediate effect, according to media reports.

The news comes following growing pressure in light on the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which aired last week.

It showed how 550 former subpostmasters and subpostmistresses were held liable by the Post Office for financial discrepancies – with some jailed, left bankrupt or even taking their own lives. But in actual fact, none of the staff had taken money and instead, the discrepancies were due to a faulty software system called Horizon

Paula, who lives at Kempston West End, ran the Post Office while it routinely denied there was a problem with the system. The former Bedford School governor and former minister at St Owen’s, Bromham, was awarded the CBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for “services to the Post Office”.