OPINION: The Fall and Fall of Paula Vennells
Some might wonder why Paula Vennells, part-time priest and previous CEO of Post Offices Ltd, features in a local newspaper,
but she has a connection with postmasters and mistresses all over the country. It was she who blocked any recognition that there could be something wrong with the Horizon computer system which wreaked havoc on their lives, creating a life of hell for those facing prosecution for fraud, with many being sent to prison. She was described in the Daily Mail of 26th April 2021 as presiding over “the cover-up of one of Britain’s biggest miscarriages of justice”.
The Save St Leonards Crown Post Office group have similar bad memories of Ms Vennells – without the catastrophic impact on their lives: she demonstrated the same intransigence when she oversaw the privatisation of local post offices, destroying the post office as a community institution. The London Road Crown Post Office in St Leonards was sold off in 2017 despite strong local opposition.
HIP ran an article in December 2018 to mark the first anniversary of the sell-off: “Now being run as a down-graded retail franchise, the St Leonards Post Office cuts a sorry figure, gloomy inside and neglected outside – a half torn-off protest leaflet from a year ago is still stuck on the wall next to the entrance.”
And more than two years later, that ‘torn-off leaflet’ is still there as an indication of neglect. In fact, not any old leaflet, but a blown-up photocopy of an article in Private Eye that begins: “POST OFFICE chief executive Paula Vennells has made solid progress in 2017, dismantling our centuries-old public service.” It goes on to say: “Aggressive commercialisation is now throwing up some bizarre results, even for our flagship ‘Crown’ offices – of which around 170 have already been farmed out to WH Smith. As any old postmaster will testify, the No 1 priority is to balance the books at the end of the day. Yet down on the South Coast in St Leonards-on-Sea, the Post Office has handed its Crown office to an operator incapable of accurately counting its own pennies. From January, the East Sussex branch will be run by a company based in, er, Bolton, called Potent Solutions Ltd.”
This article was a triumph for the staunch band of St Leonards Crown Post Office supporters, who had supplied Private Eye’s ‘Old Postie’ with the information and motivation to publish. But it was a hollow victory, as the post office went on to lose its crown. By contrast, the victory of Post Office employees seeking justice for ten years from their intransigent employers was a victory shared.
To fully understand the emotions Paula Vennells generated among those whose lives were touched by her, you only have to read one of her speeches where she compares her judgment to the wisdom of biblical King Solomon.
Talking about how her faith had been “absolutely central” to transforming the Post Office she mentions a Bible passage that meant a great deal to her: “God said to Solomon, ‘What would you like in this new role as king after your father has died?’. And Solomon said, ‘You have trusted me with this your great people too numerous to be counted. Who can judge them? Therefore, give to your servant an understanding heart that I may discern between good and evil.’”
As we endure the fallout from the pandemic, one sorry aspect is the way it appears to have been exploited by some close to government as a means making money. For Paula Vennells, you might be forgiven for thinking it was an exploitation of religious belief that supported her lucrative career.
The full Private Eye article
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