Former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells broke down as she was presented with evidence that she had made disparaging remarks about subpostmasters, who's lives were ruined when they were prosecuted over IT failures at the business.

The inquiry was shown minutes from a meeting between Vennells, Post Office personnel, and MPs, held on June 18, 2012.

Ms Vennells told MPs: “It appears that some subpostmasters have been borrowing money from the Post Office account/till in the same way they might do in a retail business”.

She said there “had not been a case investigated where the Horizon system had been found to be at fault”.

But Mr Beer points out that was not true.

He highlighted three specific cases which subpostmistresses accused of stealing Post Office funds had, by the time of that meeting, been acquitted by juries after blaming Horizon for the issue.

Mr Beer asked: “Why were you telling these parliamentarians every prosecution had found in favour of the Post Office?”

Breaking down in tears, Ms Vennells responded: “I fully accept now that the Post Office knew that.

“Personally, I didn’t know that, and I am incredibly sorry that happen to those people and to so many others.”

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