Post Office scandal: Petition to strip Paula Vennells of CBE reaches one million signatures after Horizon scandal
08.01.2024 - 07:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A petition asking for the former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to be stripped of her CBE because of the Horizon scandal has now got over one million signatures.
The call for her to lose her honour has come back into the spotlight after ITV showed a drama about the scandal, which is known as the biggest unfair legal case in UK history. Paula Vennells was in charge when the Post Office kept saying nothing was wrong with its Horizon computer system.
The petition says: "Evidence has been produced that the Post Office engaged in a mass cover up which led to the wrongful prosecution of 550 Post Office Staff many of whom were subsequently jailed, bankrupted and in some cases, sadly took their own lives."
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It also says: "Having been handed a CBE for services to the Post Office, and moved out into other senior positions in government and healthcare, it is only right that this award is now withdrawn through the process of forfeiture."
This news comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed that Justice Secretary Alex Chalk is looking at ways to help clear the names of the subpostmasters who were wrongly convicted in the scandal.
Over 700 Post Office branch managers were wrongly convicted due to a glitch in the Fujitsu accounting software, Horizon, which made it seem like money was missing from their shops.
It's reported that Mr Chalk is planning to meet with Kevin Hollinrake, the Minister for the Post Office, on Monday to discuss ways to assist these convicted managers.
Public outrage over the scandal has been reignited after ITV aired a drama about it last week, starring actor Toby Jones.
Since the broadcast of "Mr Bates Vs The Post