Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells cries in inquiry and admits evidence to MPs wasn’t true

Beer presses Vennells further on her claims that she wasn’t aware of the dozens of private prosecutions while she was in charge of the Post Office.

Vennells says she personally spoke to John Scott, the Post Office’s former head of security, after the feedback from Second Sight and the mediation scheme.

“When you spoke to John Scott about this, did you say John, I’ve been in the organisation for five or six years, I didn’t know you had a team of 100 people that were investigating up and down the country sub-postmasters and sending them to prison. How come I didn’t know?” Beer asks.

Laughter can be heard in the inquiry room as Beer poses the question.

She says she spoke to him seriously about the culture at the Post Office and that the sub-postmasters were really important to us.