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Post Office inquiry live: Paula Vennells denies trying to close down Horizon review - BBC News Post Office inquiry live: Paula Vennells denies trying to close down Horizon review - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Vennells is now shown an email from the former PR chief Mark Davies to her, in which he says there is a "real danger" in reviewing convictions from several years past which, he says, could raise questions about Horizon and have an impact on the Post Office's public perception. Sam Hancock
Jason Beer asks whether this email suggests Vennells should think about the media coverage likely to be generated when making a decision on how far back to review convictions. Reporting from the inquiry
"It could be read that way," Vennels replies.
Beer says that Vennells' initial email had asked why they were not reviewing past cases going back several years. Davies' reply said that if the Post Office went back that far it would end up on the front page. During the short morning break I chatted to former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton, who says he thinks today is all about the finer detail.
"That's a grossly improper perspective, isn't it?" says Beer. He calls it "refreshing" that Paula Vennells is able to "admit not doing something, misreading or misrepresenting something" when she's shown paperwork and correspondence by the inquiry.
"Yes it is, yes it is," Vennells replies. "I respect that, I really do," he tells me. "We all make mistakes - but I still feel let down by the fact she didn't act."
Going into the afternoon session, Castleton says the big question is whether Vennells truly made mistakes in her handling of the Horizon scandal, as she claims, or if she was part of a cover-up.
"And those people that were complicit in that, if that was the case, need to named."
He adds that the mood in the room is "a lot more relaxed" than yesterday, Vennells' first day of evidence.
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