Business

Former Post Office chief Paula Vennells quits Morrisons and Dunelm boards

Thousands of Post Office owners were falsely accused of stealing from their tills after a computer malfunction in the Horizon IT system (Photo: iStock)

By: Sattwik Biswal

PAULA VENNELLS has resigned from the boards of supermarket Morrisons and furniture retailer Dunelm after an IT scandal at the Post Office resulted in a huge miscarriage of justice.

During her tenure as Post Office chief between 2012 and 2019, there were reports of problems with Horizon, the Post Office’s faulty IT system, which were not properly investigated during her time.

After 39 sub-postmasters were cleared of theft, fraud and false accounting by the Court of Appeal, there are now calls for the company’s former bosses to be prosecuted.

Moreover, unions and victims of the scandal are demanding Vennells to give back her CBE and the more than £2.2m she received in bonuses.

After the ruling, Vennells said she would comply with the government’s ongoing inquiry into the scandal.

Andrew Higginson, Morrisons chairman, said: “Paula has been an insightful, effective and hardworking non-executive director, and, on behalf of the board, I want to thank her for her significant contribution over the last five years.”

Andy Harrison, chairman of Dunelm, said: “We respect Paula’s decision to step down from the board and I would like to thank her for the positive contribution she has made to the business since her appointment in September 2019.”