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Paula Vennells, the former chief executive of the Post Office, has officially been stripped of her Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) title by the King, following accusations of “bringing the honours system into disrepute”.
Ms. Vennells, who was honored with the CBE in 2019, faced widespread criticism in the aftermath of the Post Office scandal. During her tenure, the organization repeatedly denied any issues with its Horizon IT software system, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Last month, she announced her intention to relinquish the honor.
The announcement regarding the revocation of her CBE was made on the Cabinet Office website. It was disclosed alongside the stripping of MBE from grime artist Wiley, known as Richard Cowie, also for “bringing the honours system into disrepute”. Wiley had previously announced his decision to return the honor following antisemitic comments made on social media, as well as his involvement in legal matters.
Ms. Vennells’ role in the Post Office scandal gained further public attention through the ITV drama “Mr. Bates Vs The Post Office”, which shed light on the ordeal faced by over 700 sub-postmasters and mistresses. These individuals saw their lives and reputations devastated by allegations of theft and false accounting, stemming from issues with the Horizon computer system.
Despite years of campaigning and revelations of miscarriages of justice, only a limited number of individuals have had their convictions overturned. The UK government has pledged to rectify the wrongful convictions, and a public inquiry was initiated in 2022 to investigate what has been termed as the “worst miscarriage of justice in recent British legal history”.