- Church sources have claimed the Archbishop was supportive of Paula Vennells
The Archbishop of Canterbury is facing calls to resign over links to disgraced Post Office boss Paula Vennells, who he is said to have supported for the Bishop of London role – despite the Horizon scandal.
Queen Elizabeth II’s former chaplain, Rev Canon Jeremy Haselock, has called for Archbishop Justin Welby to resign after claims emerged that he had endorsed Vennells for the position.
Church sources have claimed the Archbishop was supportive of Vennells when she was shortlisted to become Bishop of London in 2017, which is the third most senior role in the Church of England.
This was despite the suggestions that postmasters had been wrongly prosecuted for theft, fraud and false accounting.
Vennells – who was chief executive of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019 – returned her CBE last week after the nation responded with fury to the Horizon scandal.
But campaigners said her decision to hand the honour back with immediate effect was a token gesture and it was time she faced ‘real justice’.
Sources told the BBC that Vennells was on the shortlist for the final three candidates for the esteemed role – with the Archbishop keen as a key supporter.
She was interviewed for the role but was not appointed. Sarah Mullally, who was formerly England’s chief nursing officer before she became a priest, was announced as the first female Bishop of London instead.
The revelation comes as her local church hit out at her portrayal in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, describing the mini-series as a ‘bit like the Crown’.
Ms Vennells, 65, was ordained as a priest in 2005 and had been an associate minister in the diocese of St Albans while at the same time running the Post Office.
After the Archbishop’s reported support for the Post Office scandal boss emerged, Rev Haselock, now an associate priest at Great St Bartolomew’s in London, called for him to step down.
Writing on his personal social media, he said: ‘Surely this is the point at which Welby must go.
‘Another demonstration of his complete lack of sound judgement.
‘His backing for this woman for episcopal office shows how completely he fails to understand the nature of that office.
‘His total failure to bring pastoral care to the fore during the pandemic and the disastrous decisions he made at that time show his complete and utter lack of understanding of the Church and its ministry.’
He concluded the Facebook post: ‘His has been a terrible primary and clutching his Royal Victorian Order, he should go.’
Sources told the Telegraph: ‘Justin was close to her’ and ‘he was always very supportive of her when she was a member of the Church of England ethical investment advisory committee’.
In 2017 – the year Vennells was interviewed for the Bishop of London role – legal action was launched against the post office by a group of 555 postmasters.
The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted more than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses between 1999 and 2015 for theft, fraud and false accounting based on information from a recently installed computer system called Horizon.
The scandal is considered the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history, leading to the inquiry into what went wrong, and who was responsible.
Former postmaster Alan Bates led and won a legal battle after himself falling victim to the faults. His victory paved the way for dozens of convictions to be overturned.
ITV drama ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office’ – the channel’s biggest new drama in over a decade – brought the scandal to the forefront of the nation’s attention.
After the uproar that ensued, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new law would be introduced to quash the convictions of around 700 Post Office scandal victims.
The Prime Minister said the Government is determined to ‘right the wrongs’ as he made the dramatic announcement at the first PMQs of the year.
Mr Sunak said the primary legislation will ensure that people are ‘swiftly exonerated and compensated’. Victims who sign simple declarations of innocence will be entitled to money, potentially £600,000 each, by the end of the year.
More than 700 Post Office branch managers were convicted after faulty Fujitsu accounting software called Horizon made it look like money was missing from their shops.
So far just 93 have been able to clear their names in the courts, leaving hundreds unable to claim compensation.
The scandal wrecked havoc upon the victims’ lives – with four taking their own lives.
It even effected their families, with many children of those impacted by the miscarriage of justice speaking out about the the bullying they faced.
Former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton said she was ‘glad’ the ex-Post Office had handed her CBE back, adding: ‘It’s a shame it took just a million people to cripple her conscience.’
Ms Hamilton, who was wrongfully convicted in 2008 of stealing thousands of pounds from the village shop in South Warnborough, Hampshire, said: ‘It shows the people have spoken – about everything really.
‘It’s not just about her CBE, it’s about how disgusting the whole thing is.
‘We’re all sick and tired of people taking money, being paid exorbitant amounts of money, and politicians taking absolutely no notice of you whatsoever… I think the people are just sick of it.’
Varchas Patel, whose father Vipin who was wrongfully convicted of fraud in 2011 after being accused of stealing £75,000 from his Post Office branch in Oxford, said: ‘My initial reaction is good, I’m glad. She doesn’t deserve that CBE, she never did deserve that CBE.’
The shamed ex-Post Office chief said: ‘I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.
‘I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system’.
Before joining the Post Office in 2007, Ms Vennells worked for beauty brand L’Oréal and hospitality business Whitbread.
Ms Vennells started as a group network director, then became managing director in 2010 before being promoted to the position of chief executive in 2012.
After leaving the Post Office, Ms Vennells took over as chair of the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in April 2019. She later stepped down, around the same time as a group of former sub-postmasters won a court case to have their convictions quashed.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
