Post Office inquiry: Paula Vennells reveals her fundamental defence
Paula Vennells arrived at the Post Office public inquiry a former chief executive, a former Church of England lay preacher and an ex-CBE, with only her reputation, and perhaps her liberty, left to defend.
After more than five hours of questioning she has done very little to restore the former, with the latter still very much a live issue.
While she was giving evidence her nemesis Alan Bates was meeting the Metropolitan Police to discuss their ongoing investigation.
Post Office inquiry: Paula Vennells’ evidence as it happened
The day went horribly for Ms Vennells from the moment she stepped from her car in torrential rain and was met by the sort of media scrum reserved for superstars and the shamed.
Navigating hordes of cameras and reporters is the 21st century’s version of the public stocks.
Having avoided scrutiny for nearly nine years, during which time the Post Office she ran has been revealed as deceitful, vindictive and shambolic, she should have expected nothing less.
Inside she faced an audience of around 150 sub-postmasters, the toughest of crowds for the person ultimately responsible for sending many of them to jail for crimes they didn’t commit.
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Ex-Post Office boss asked to compose herself
After a reminder from the inquiry chair Sir Wynn Williams about her right to avoid self-incrimination, her opening gambit was an apology.
She said sorry to the sub-postmasters and families whose lives had been ruined. She said sorry specifically to Mr Bates and Lord Arbuthnot, their Parliamentary champion, and the investigators from Second Sight, who exposed the Post Office’s failings on her behalf and she shut down for their trouble.
The respite lasted as long as it took Jason Beer KC to clear his throat. The lead counsel to the inquiry’s principal weapon was irony and it was devastating, the more so for apparently being lost on Ms Vennells.
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Sub-postmasters react to Vennells’ tears
“Are you the unluckiest chief executive in history?” he asked.
After a pause, the first of many, she replied: “One of my reflections on all of this is that I was too trusting.”
That captured her fundamental defence, which is that during 12 years at the Post Office, seven of them as chief executive, she was entirely unaware of the multiple issues that led to the biggest miscarriage of justice in British legal history.
After listing the multiple things she claims in her 775-page witness statement not to have known, from bugs in the Horizon computer system to instructions to shred documents, Mr Beer asked: “Was there a conspiracy, lasting 12 years, involving different people over time to deny you documents and falsely reassure?”
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After careful consideration she concluded conspiracy might be going too far. “My deep sorrow is that individuals, myself included, made mistakes, didn’t see things, didn’t hear things,” she said.
Throughout the hearing she claimed not to have been aware of fundamental issues. For example she said she did not know the Post Office could investigate and prosecute its staff, a power it has had since the 17th century, until she became chief executive.
When confronted with clear evidence she ought to have been aware of issues, in the form of emails and documents she admitted to sending and receiving, she claimed not to have understood their true meaning at the time.
Several times she was moved to tears. More frequently she was stunned into silence by questions, struggling to summon answers when trapped by the contradictions in her evidence.
The sub-postmasters meanwhile struggled to contain their disdain, hollow laughter greeting several answers.
There was no laughter when she was challenged about suicide of sub-postmaster Martin Griffiths, and an email in which she appeared to attribute it to his mental health, rather than the actions of Post Office investigators who were pursuing him.
“Sorry is not an adequate world, I am just very sorry that Mr Griffiths is not here today,” she said.
She has two more days in the witness stand, and on this evidence, nowhere to go.
Barclays will no longer sponsor Latitude, Download or Isle of Wight festivals after musicians and comedians dropped out in protest over the bank’s ties to the Israel-Hamas war.
Live Nation, the concert promoter, told Sky News: “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of our festivals.”
Upcoming Live Nation festivals across the UK this summer include Latitude, Download and the Isle of Wight.
Barclays signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Live Nation in 2023. It’s not clear if the suspension will apply to all events up to 2028.
Comedians Joanne McNally, Sophie Duker, Grace Campbell, and Alexandra Haddow all announced they would be boycotting Latitude Festival last week.
Musicians including CMAT, Pillow Queens, Mui Zyu, and Georgia Ruth had also pulled out of the event.
Download Festival, which comes to Donington Park, Leicestershire this weekend, had seen acts including Pest Control, Ithaca, Scowl, Speed and Zulu pull out, also over the festival’s sponsorship.
‘Facilitating genocide’
In a statement on Instagram, Pest Control wrote: “We will not take part in an event whose sponsor profits from facilitating a genocide”.
Meanwhile, Ithaca wrote on X: “Whilst we hate letting anyone down, this moment of solidarity sends a powerful message to the organisers about where the younger generation of bands stand”.
A spokesperson for Barclays told Sky News: “Barclays was asked and has agreed to suspend participation in the remaining Live Nation festivals in 2024”.
Pic: Palestine Action/X
Barclays calls on ‘leaders’ to ‘stand united’ against activist pressure
Palestine Action, a group whose members attacked 20 of the bank branches across England and Scotland last week, has accused Barclays of having financial interests in both Israel’s weapons trade and fossil fuels.
The UK-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign has called for a general boycott of the bank, while the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has named Barclays as one of their “divestment and exclusion” targets.
Barclays’ statement went on: “The protestors’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defence companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe.
“They have resorted to intimidating our staff, repeated vandalism of our branches and online harassment. The only thing that this small group of activists will achieve is to weaken essential support for cultural events enjoyed by millions.
“It is time that leaders across politics, business, academia and the arts stand united against this.”
Barclays has said while it provides financial services to “public companies that supply defence products to NATO and its allies” it does not directly invest in the firms.
Latitude Festival told Sky News: “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of Latitude Festival”.
Comedians pull out en masse
Taskmaster star McNally, who had been set to close the Latitude Festival on Saturday wrote in an Instagram story last week: “I’m getting messages today about me performing at Latitude when it’s being sponsored by Barclays.
“I’m no longer doing Latitude. I was due to close the comedy tent on the Sunday night, but I pulled out last week.
“I’m on the old artwork but I haven’t been listed on the site since I pulled out a week ago.”
Comedian Duker had shared a photo of her at a previous Latitude Festival, and confirmed she would be boycotting the event.
She wrote: “I am committed to minimising my complicity in what I consider to be a pattern of abhorrent, unlawful violence”.
The 34-year-old comedian also said her pro-Palestinian stance “has gained me violent abuse, targeted pile-ons and death threats”.
Fellow comedian Grace Campbell, who is the daughter of Sir Tony Blair’s former spokesman Alastair Campbell, shared Duker’s post in an Instagram story, announcing she was also pulling out of the festival.
Meanwhile, comedian Alexandra Haddow said she too would no longer appear at Latitude, writing on Instagram: “I can’t in good conscience take the fee.”
In a post shared on her Instagram account last week, Irish singer-songwriter CMAT said she would boycott Latitude, writing: “I will not allow my precious work, my music, which I love so much, to get into bed with violence.”
Isle Of Wight Festival. Pic: AP
Campaign groups celebrate victory
In response to the exodus of acts, Barclays previously defended its position, saying it recognised “the profound human suffering” caused by the Israel-Hamas war.
“We provide vital financial services to US, UK, and European public companies that supply defence products to NATO and its allies,” it said in a statement published online.
“Barclays does not directly invest in these companies. The defence sector is fundamental to our national security and the UK government has been clear that supporting defence companies is compatible with ESG considerations.
“Decisions on the implementation of arms embargos to other nations are the job of respective elected governments.”
Bands Boycott Barclays declares victory
In response to Barclays stepping away, campaign group Bands Boycott Barclays, which has been leading the protests, wrote on Instagram: “This is a victory for the Palestinian-led global BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.
“As musicians, we were horrified that our music festivals were partnered with Barclays, who are complicit in the genocide in Gaza through investment, loans and underwriting of arms companies supplying the Israeli military.
“Hundreds of artists have taken action this summer to make it clear that this is morally reprehensible, and we are glad we have been heard.
“Our demand to Barclays is simple: divest from the genocide, or face further boycotts. Boycotting Barclays, also Europe’s primary funder of fossil fuels, is the minimum we can do to call for change.”
Last month, more than 100 acts dropped out of The Great Escape Festival in Brighton and Hove due to its ties to Barclays.
Climate campaigners also welcomed the move to suspend the Barclaycard sponsorship.
‘Rotten bank’
Joanna Warrington at Fossil Free London said: “Barclays is a rotten bank: artists, brands, clients, and customers are all abandoning Barclays because of the billions Barclays is ploughing into fossil-fuel companies like Shell and Israeli arms companies dropping bombs on innocent Palestinian children.
“This won’t stop until Barclays stops funding destruction.”
Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director Areeba Hamid said: “This bank is the biggest fossil-fuel funder in Europe, bankrolling oil and gas to the tune of billions of pounds, and has now been linked to arms companies involved in the conflict in Gaza.
“By putting an end to the greenwashing, festival organisers are sending a clear signal to Barclays that it’s time they took responsibility for the destructive industries they fund.”
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Festival sponsors face growing scrutiny
Barclays has confirmed that despite no longer being associated with the festivals, their customers with tickets will not be affected and their tickets will remain valid.
In a similar turn of events, Hay Festival dropped its sponsorship with investment management firm Baillie Gifford last month, after numerous celebrities pulled out due to the company’s links with fossil fuels and businesses linked to the Israeli defence industry.
Activist group Fossil Free Books urged high-profile figures to distance themselves from the literary event, which saw performers including comedian Nish Kumar, singer Charlotte Church and Labour MP Dawn Butler pull out.
While in March many artists refuse to play SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, due to the event’s connections to the US army and weapons companies linked with the conflict.
Download Festival will be held in Donington Park, Leicestershire this weekend.
The Isle of Wight Festival will be held in Seaclose Park, Newport, between 20 – 23 June, headlined by The Prodigy, Pet Shop Boys and Green Day.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend Latitude Festival at Henham Park in Suffolk, held from the 25-29 July.
Two sandwich makers supplying UK supermarkets have recalled products because of an E.coli risk, the Food Standards Agency has said.
It’s a precautionary step a week after the UK Health Security Agency said an outbreak had forced some people into hospital.
Products from Boots, Asda, Tesco, Co-op, Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Amazon are part of the recall, said the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Asda and Tesco stressed it was a precaution and said shoppers could return the products for a refund.
Greencore and Samworth Brothers Manton Wood are the companies that supplied the products.
It’s understood other manufacturers will issue their own recalls in the coming hours.
The FSA said it had narrowed the source “to a small number of salad leaf products that have been used in sandwiches, wraps, subs and rolls”.
Symptoms include “severe and sometimes bloody diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever”, said Trish Mannes from the UKHSA.
However, some cases can cause serous complications that can lead to kidney failure.
People are being advised to follow NHS.uk guidance if they become unwell.
“Washing your hands with soap and warm water and using disinfectants to clean surfaces will help stop any further spread of infection,” said Ms Mannes.
People who might be infected also shouldn’t prepare food for others and avoid work or school until 48 hours after symptoms stop.
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The UKHSA said cases had nearly doubled in the last week, with a further 98 bringing the total to 211.
Numbers are expected to rise as testing continues for more cases of the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).
Based on 160 cases, 42% of people have needed hospital treatment, the UKHSA added.
Last week, it said cases were linked to a “nationally distributed food item” but didn’t give further details.
E.coli bacteria are normally harmless and live in the intestines of humans and animals. However some strains, like STEC, can make people very ill.
Full list of recalled products:
Aldi Chicken Fajita Triple Wrap
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by Amazon BLT Sandwich
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by Amazon Chicken & Bacon Layered Salad
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by Amazon Chicken Salad Sandwich
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by Amazon Ploughman’s Sandwich
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by Amazon Prawn Layered Salad
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Asda Smoky Beans and Cheddar Cheese Wrap
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Asda Chicken Salad (Sandwich)
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Asda Chicken & Bacon Club (Sandwich)
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Asda Brie, Bacon and Chilli Chutney (Sandwich)
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Asda BLT (Sandwich)
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Asda Vegan No Chick’n Caesar Wrap
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Asda Tuna Crunch Sub Roll
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Asda Southern Fried Chicken Wrap
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Asda Southern Fried Chicken Triple Wrap
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Boots BBQ Chicken wrap
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Boots BLT (Sandwich)
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Boots Cheddar Cheese Ploughman’s (Sandwich)
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Boots Chicken & Bacon Caesar Wrap
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Boots Chicken Salad (Sandwich)
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Boots Chicken Triple (Sandwich)
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Boots Delicious Ham & Cheese Ploughman’s (Sandwich)
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Boots Halloumi & Greek Style Salad wrap
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Boots Ham & Egg Club (Sandwich)
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Boots Mixed Triple (Sandwich)
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Boots Southern Fried Chicken Wrap
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Boots Spicy Bean & Cheese Wrap
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Boots Vegan No Chicken Salad (Sandwich)
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Boots Vegan No Duck & Hoisin Wrap
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Boots Veggie Triple (Sandwich)
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Co-op Vegan Gro Onion Bhaji (Sandwich)
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Co-op Mexican Style Bean & Cheese Wrap
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Co-op Ham, Cheese & Pickle (Sandwich)
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Co-op Ham & Cheese Wrap
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Co-op Chicken & Bacon Caesar Wrap
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Co-op Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato (Sandwich)
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Morrisons Chicken Salad (Sandwich)
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Morrisons Chicken Salad PFS (Sandwich)
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Morrisons Gluten Free Chicken Salad (Sandwich)
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Morrisons Gluten Free Sandwich Platter
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OneStop Tuna Crunch Sub
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OneStop Chicken Salad Sandwich
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OneStop Hoisin Duck Wrap
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OneStop Chicken Bacon & Lettuce Sandwich
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Sainsbury’s Kitchen Deli Peri Peri Chicken Wrap
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Sainsbury’s Kitchen Deli BBQ Pulled Pork & Red Leicester Wrap
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Sainsbury’s Kitchen Deli Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Focaccia (Sandwich)
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Sainsbury’s Kitchen Deli Greek Style Wrap
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Sainsbury’s Kitchen Deli Jerk Halloumi Wrap
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Tesco Chicken Salad Sandwich
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Tesco Chicken Salad Sub
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Tesco BBQ Chicken Wrap
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Tesco Hoi Sin Duck Wrap
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Tesco The Chicken Club Sandwich
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Tesco Tuna Crunch Sub
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Tesco Spicy Bean Wrap
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Tesco Chicken Bacon & Lettuce Sandwich
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Tesco Fajita Chicken Wrap
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Tesco Summer Edition Greek Style Chicken Gyros Wrap
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The Gym Kitchen Peri Peri Chicken Chilled Wrap
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