Post Office Scandal: Paula Vennells 'Not the right person to lead the Post Office'

The Government considered removing Paula Vennells from her position as Post Office chief executive over concerns about her people management and a “lack of knowledge”, the Horizon IT Inquiry has heard.

Considerations for dismissing Ms Vennells were discussed in a paper drawn up in February 2014 for a committee within the Department for Business and the shareholder executive of the Post Office Ltd (POL), of which the Government was sole shareholder.

She kept her position as chief executive until 2019 and was made a CBE in December 2018 for her “dedication in putting the customer first”.

The document, marked Post Office Ltd Senior Management Risk and Assurance Committee and “restricted”, said: “Advice from the recent Annual Review suggested that the POL (Post Office Ltd) team give careful consideration to the continued suitability of Paula Vennells as CEO.

“There is a general consensus that Paula is no longer the right person to lead POL but justification is anecdotal.”

The document, shown to the inquiry, went on to say she had “not been able to establish good working relationships with Jo Swinson” – the former parliamentary under-secretary for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

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