Home Business News Labour calls for the prosecution to be taken from the Post Office and given to the CPS amid the scandal

Labour calls for the prosecution to be taken from the Post Office and given to the CPS amid the scandal

8th Jan 24 1:12 pm

There has been growing calls for the former Post Office boss Paula Vennell’s CBE to be revoked following the Horizon scandal.

The Prime Minister said that he will “strongly support” the Honours Forfeiture Committee should they decide to investigate into revoking Vennell’s CBE.

Following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office which has put the miscarriage of justice into the spotlight of hundreds of post office masters.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Rishi Sunak would “strongly support” the Forfeiture Committee should “they were to choose to investigate.”

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Sir Chris Wormald, the chair of the Forfeiture Committee, has already attracted more than one million signatures for Vennell’s CBE to be revoked.

Labour has called for the prosecution powers to be taken from the Post Office and given to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) amid the scandal.

The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, speaking during a visit in Loughborough, said, “I think that the prosecution should be taken out of the hands of the Post Office and given to the Crown Prosecution Service.

“I used to run the Crown Prosecution Service, we’ve prosecuted for other departments, we can do it here – that should be done straight away.

“And these convictions, the remaining convictions, need to be looked at en masse.”

He added, “The Government could pass legislation, so obviously we’d support that if they did.

“It might be possible to get these cases back before the Court of Appeal quickly – I’ve done that when I was a prosecutor – but whichever way it’s done, these convictions need to be looked at.”

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