Former Post Office Chief Executive, Paula Vennells, is due to give evidence to the Horizon inquiry next week.

Vennells has emerged as a key figure in the ongoing investigation of the vast miscarriage of justice. She was Group Chief Executive of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019, her tenure covering the latter Horizon prosecutions. She is scheduled to give evidence for three days.

This week the inquiry heard evidence from the Post Office’s former head of IT, Lesley Sewell, who testified that she had had to block Vennells’ number due to her calling multiple times asking for help to avoid a public inquiry.

Sewell said: ‘Paula contacted me on four occasions in total. I recall blocking her number after the last call as I did not feel comfortable with her contacting me.’

Vennells has already come under fire for her handling of the Horizon scandal. Giving evidence last month, Lord Abuthnot said the disgraced CEO had blamed the ‘temptation’ of dipping into tills by sub-postmasters was the problem, not the faulty IT system.

The Post Office’s former top lawyer, Chris Aujard, also told the inquiry that Vennells was reluctant to stop prosecuting subpostmasters for theft and faulty accounting, even once issues with the Horizon system were known, because the prosecutions acted ‘as a deterrent’.

Tapes acquired by Channel 4 news have also revealed that Vennells was aware of a covert team at IT giant Fujitsu’s office that could enter and make changes within Post Office IT systems two years before she denied this was possible in parliament.

Her appearance at the inquiry is likely to focus on what she knew about problems with the IT system while the Post Office were still prosecuting subpostmasters, and whether she lied to MPs.