Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the quashing of the convictions of 39 sub-postmasters at the Court of Appeal on 23 April, what assessment they have made of the possibility of repayment of any severance payment made to Paula Vennells on her departure from Post Office Ltd.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Lord.
Mentions:
1: Chi Onwurah (LAB - Newcastle upon Tyne Central) Paula Vennells led the Post Office during this time and was honoured with a CBE. - Speech Link
2: Paul Scully (CON - Sutton and Cheam) She talks about Paula Vennells. - Speech Link
3: Marion Fellows (SNP - Motherwell and Wishaw) Court of Appeal’s decision shows that there has been a devastating failure by Post Office Ltd during Paula - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Seema Malhotra (LAB - Feltham and Heston) Paula Vennells led the Post Office during this time and was honoured with a CBE, along with a long list - Speech Link
Written Evidence Jun. 24 2021
Inquiry: Post Office and HorizonFound: Vennells spoke quite openly about these cases in the press™ (149) and a letter sent by Vennells to BIS
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to Answer of 4 March 2021 to Question 160543 on Paula Vennells, for what reason his Department made a different judgement on whether the costs of publishing the correspondence were disproportionate for (a) January to June 2013 and (b) July to December 2013.
Answered by Paul Scully
BEIS officials consider several factors when assessing whether a request can be obtained at proportionate cost. One such factor is the time a request is made. A request made close to the time it is requesting information from is easier to process and respond to. A request sent a significant time after an event is much more difficult to process in a timely way, as it involves a recall of historic records by the records team.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish all correspondence between Paula Vennels and his Department dated between July 2013 and December 2013.
Answered by Paul Scully
BEIS officials have assessed that publication of the correspondence between Paula Vennells and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy dated between July 2013 and December 2013 can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells quits Morrisons and Dunelm boards https://t.co/tTN58OvuYV She received an estimated £5m while at Post Office. While 100s of sub postmasters live in poverty,their reputation ruined because of the Horizon scandal.
Today, I wrote to the Honours Forfeiture Committee to urge its Chair to rescind the CBE awarded to Paula Vennells for services to the Post Office. The CBE award is utterly wrong and deeply insulting to those who suffered during her period at the Post Office. https://t.co/mj6kMDoT8v
Now disgraced ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells is forced out of her £55k NHS job @DailyMailUK https://t.co/0gUbzRfgrw
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the evidence from Paula Vennells to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee on 24 June 2020, what the identify is of the law firm involved on behalf of his Department with which the UKGI POL representative was fully engaged.
Answered by Paul Scully
The legal defence of the litigation was handled solely by Post Office Ltd.