The former CEO of Royal Mail Group accused Paula Vennells of knowing about Horizon IT errors, telling her “I can’t now support you”.

On Wednesday, the Horizon IT inquiry was shown a text message exchange between Vennells and Dame Moya Greene in January 2024, after the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office aired.

Ms Vennells, the former Post Office chief executive, said Dame Moya was suggesting that there was a conspiracy within the Post Office.

Dame Moya messaged: “When it was clear the system was at fault, the PO should have raised a red flag, stopped all proceedings, given people back their money and then tried to compensate them for the ruin this caused in their lives.”

Ms Vennells replied: “Yes I agree. This has/is taking too long Moya. The toll on everyone affected is dreadful.”

Dame Moya said: “I don’t know what to say. I think you knew.”

Ms Vennells responded: “No Moya, that isn’t the case.”

Dame Moya said: “I want to believe you. I asked you twice. I suggested you get an independent review reporting to you. I was afraid you were being lied to.

Post Office Horizon IT scandal
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has been giving evidence to the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal (Screengrab/PA)

“You said the system had already been reviews multiple times. How could you have not known?”

Ms Vennells replied: “Moya, the mechanism for getting to the bottom of this is the inquiry. I’ve made it my priority to support it fully.”

Dame Moya later said: “I am sorry.. I can’t now support you.”

“I have supported you. All these years.. to my own detriment. I can’t support you now after what I have learned.”

Counsel to the inquiry, Jason Beer KC, asked: “Moya Greene accuses you of knowing. What did you understand this to be?”

Ms Vennells said: “There are a further series of texts. I understood that Moya had returned to the country earlier this year, that she had been listening to all of the information in the inquiry and she was trying to square her memory with what she was hearing.”

Mr Beer responded: “She says, ‘I think you knew’, you say that’s not the case.”

Ms Vennells said: “I think Moya was possibly suggesting there that there was some conspiracy and, as I said, I did not believe that was the case.”

Mr Beer replied: “Moya asks how could you not know, you did not answer.”

Ms Vennells said: “No … I was very concerned because I was aware that it is not good practice to be exchanging texts in the middle of an inquiry.”

Mr Beer responded: “How could you not know?”

Ms Vennells said: “This is a situation that is so complex, it is a question I have asked myself as well.

“I have learned some things that I did not know as a result of the inquiry and I imagine that we will go through some of the detail of that. I wish I had known.”