SHAMELESS Post Office bosses danced the night away at a glitzy party while hundreds of sub-postmasters battled to clear their names.
A faulty IT system led to the prosecution of 983 people between 1999 and 2015 – with it emerging since that some of those involved knew of the bugs at the time.
Post OfficeShameless Post Office bosses, including Paula Vennells, danced the night away at an expenses-funded party in 2017[/caption]
Post OfficeAs Ms Vennells boogied, hundreds of sub-postmasters were fighting wrongful prosecutions brought by the company[/caption]
Many were convicted of offences including false accounting and even theft, with some wrongfully jailed.
Others committed suicide or died before their convictions were quashed.
Now, a video has emerged of a lavish party that Post Office execs enjoyed in June 2017.
They included company boss Paula Vennells, who danced to a live performance from Pixie Lott just a few months removed from giving evidence to the High Court in the case brought against the Post Office by a group of sub-postmasters.
That evidence was later determined to be “inaccurate and misleading”.
The event, which was paid for on expenses, took place at a five-star Hilton Hotel.
It included a concert from British pop star Pixie Lott who, according to The Mirror, charged £25,000 for corporate gigs at the time.
A video of the party, released on the Post Office website but subsequently removed, shows Ms Vennels dancing with other senior execs.
They include her predecessor Alan Cook, who oversaw the prosecution of 161 sub-postmasters during his tenure.
Kevin Gilliland, head of retail at the time of the scandal, was also there.
Guests were treated to champagne and a three-course meal to go with the live entertainment.
Former sub-postmistress Seema Misra, 48, who was wrongfully jailed while pregnant slammed the footage as “shameful”.
She told The Mirror: “I can’t believe it – people lost their lives and these people are out there partying.
“Every time I think I have heard it all, something new emerges, it’s disgusting.”
Another victim of the scandal, Mark Kelly, said the video proved that Ms Vennels has “no moral compass”.
While it operates as an independent company, the Government is the sole shareholder of the Post Office and public money is used in funding it.
In 2021/22, the company received £227 million investment from ministers, though the press release concerning this has been deleted from its website.
It comes after Ms Vennels announced she would hand back her CBE, awarded at the beginning of 2019, nearly five years after the High Court ruled that the Horizon IT system contained “bugs, errors and defects” that artificially created shortfalls in branch balance sheets.
The scandal was brought back into public consciousness this year after the airing of ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, following the sub-postmasters’ crusade for justice.
Over 900 sub-postmasters, including Gary Brown, were prosecuted based on data from a faulty IT systemSWNS
AFPHeroic Alan Bates led a decades-long campaign to force the Post Office to admit wrongdoing[/caption]
Post OfficeThe event included a live performance from Pixie Lott[/caption]
Post OfficeMs Vennells beamed as she danced with colleagues[/caption]
Post OfficeGuests quaffed champagne and enjoyed a three-course dinner[/caption]
AFPMs Vennell’s evidence to the High Court concerning the scandal was later determined to be ‘inaccurate and misleading’[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
