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Horizon Postmasters 'THEFT': CORRUPT Former Post Office Boss Paula Vennells, Who Convicted 700 INNOCENT PostMasters, Faces Calls to Return £5 MILLION in Bonuses and Pension After Handing Back Her CBE

Japanese IT Firm Fujitsus' Scandal in Its Home Country, Where a Traditional 'Culture of Shame' Can Destroy Firms.

-IT Firm At Heart of The Horizon Postmasters 'THEFT' Scandal, Which Caused DEATHS & SUICIDES, is Also in Charge of Running The UK's CRIMINAL Records System -As EXPOSED in ITV drama, 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office'

The Guardian 10 JAN 2024







Shamed Paula Vennells was last night facing calls to return £3million in bonuses and pension.





The former Post Office chief yesterday bowed to huge public pressure and finally gave up the CBE she was awarded in 2019.


But campaigners said her decision to hand the honour back with immediate effect was a token gesture and it was time she faced 'real justice'. She also LIED in court

Ms Vennells, 65, pocketed as much as £5million for being in charge during the Horizon IT scandal in which hundreds of postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted, bankrupted and jailed.


And she is now facing calls to return £2.93million in performance-related perks and payments in lieu of pension.

Ministers are considering legislation that would exonerate all sub-postmasters and mistresses wrongly convicted based on false evidence provided by the Post Office's Horizon accounting software.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told MPs the idea is receiving "active consideration" after Nadhim Zahawi asked him to "bring in a simple bill to quash" all wrongful convictions "immediately".

The Post Office scandal saw more than 700 sub-postmasters convicted of fraud and theft after the Horizon system said there was money missing from accounts, leading to accusations that staff were stealing.

Mr Zahawi, when addressing Mr Chalk, told the Commons those wrongly convicted could not claim compensation until their convictions are quashed.





Japanese IT Firm Fujitsus At Heart of The Horizon Postmasters 'THEFT' Scandal Which Caused DEATHS & SUICIDES

Fujitsu Bosses Will Answer Questions From MPs Next Tuesday About The System..





Images of the post office Fujitsu Horizon IT system from the year 2000


Post Office managers are being forced to trust the IT firm at the heart of the Horizon scandal to clear their names – because it also runs Britain's criminal records system.

Victims who were wrongly convicted of fraud and theft described it as 'perverse' and 'another slap in the face' today as they try to piece their lives back together.

They also vowed to bring down the Japanese tech firm Fujitsu by exposing the Post Office scandal in its home country, where a traditional 'culture of shame' can destroy firms.

Fujitsu bosses will answer questions from MPs on the business and trade committee next Tuesday about the flawed Horizon accounting system.

Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake will attend the evidence session, and Alan Bates, the former subpostmaster who brought a claim against the Post Office and was the subject of an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which thrust the scandal back into the spotlight, has also been invited.





Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake (pictured) will attend the evidence session



Fujitsu told to cough up compensation over Post Office Horizon scandal





Fujitsu, whose defective Horizon IT system has been blamed for causing so much anguish, has been urged to pay compensation to victims by a senior Tory MP



Post Office managers are being forced to trust the IT firm at the heart of the Horizon scandal to clear their names because it also runs Britain's criminal records system

Chris Trousdale, 41, who was left with PTSD after Horizon wrongly reported £7,800 was missing from his post office in North Yorkshire, said: 'Fujitsu has never been properly held to account.

'It's perverse that we have to rely on them to remove our names from the criminal records database.'

Fujitsu ALSO signed a £48million deal in 2022 to maintain the Police National Computer, which stores details of all convictions and cautions, and fingerprint and DNA data.



In 2021, an error in the system led to the loss of 413,000 records of police evidence.

Postmasters whose convictions are overturned can ask the Criminal Records Office to expunge their records, but Fujitsu is responsible for removing the data.


Today victims said they had been approached by ex-Fujitsu staff who worked on Horizon.

A source said: 'Some whistleblowers have come forward after watching the ITV drama, and we hope they will agree to give evidence at the public inquiry.'

Downing Street said Fujitsu will be 'held accountable' if the public inquiry finds it blundered.

Fujitsu acknowledged the 'devastating impact' Horizon had on postmasters' lives, adding: 'Fujitsu has apologised for its role in their suffering. Fujitsu is committed to supporting the inquiry.'





Pictured is Katherine Kelly as Angela, Lia Williams as Paula and Ian Hart as Bob Rutherford in the ITV show Mr Bates vs Post Office




Horizon Scandal: Falsely Accused Sub-Postmaster Went Through '20 Years of HELL'




Former Sub-Postmaster Struggles to Find Work After Being Tarred as a Fraudster




Mr Bates vs The Post Office TRAILER