will you be back for paula vennels? _ each other. will you be back for paula vennels?ou be back for paula vennels? yes. is - each other. will you be back for paula vennels? yes. is it - each other. will you be back for - paula vennels? yes. is it important for ou. paula vennels? yes. is it important foryou- it — paula vennels? yes. is it important foryou- it is — paula vennels? yes. is it important for you- it is to _ paula vennels? yes. is it important for you. it is to give _ paula vennels? yes. is it important for you. it is to give support - paula vennels? yes. is it important for you. it is to give support to - for you. it is to give support to other postmasters _ for you. it is to give support to other postmasters that - for you. it is to give support to other postmasters that were i for you. it is to give support to - other postmasters that were more affected _ other postmasters that were more affected with paula than i was. thank— affected with paula than i was. thank you _ affected with paula than i was. thank you very much indeed. that's it for tonight. i'm b

_by —— by paula vennells. -- by paula vennells. can return to... -- by paula vennells.. can return to... you will— -- by paula vennells. can return to... you will see _ -- by paula vennells. can return to... you will see he _ -- by paula vennells. can return to... you will see he was - -- by paula vennells. can return to... you will see he was the - to... you will see he was the parliamentary under secretary of state _ parliamentary under secretary of state in — parliamentary under secretary of state in business at that time and you say— state in business at that time and you say i— state in business at that time and you say i have been contacted by a number— you say i have been contacted by a number of— you say i have been contacted by a number of constituents living in hampshire who are most upset that the tocat— hampshire who are most upset that the local post office has been closed — the local post office has been closed and a long—standing employee has been _ closed and a long—standing employee has been dismissed due to irregularities. i would has been dismissed du

and you copy paula vennells direct e—mail to paula vennells.cations, whilst i appreciate the majority of issues began under previous regimes, you have expressed a genuine willingness to express the concerns thatjfsa have been raising, it's now feasible to show many of the prosecution is the post office at preston should never have taken place, i believe this is a view shared by kay. he suggests some dates. overall, what was the purpose of making such direct one—to—one contract with paula vennells? i direct one-to-one contract with paula vennells?— direct one-to-one contract with paula vennells? i don't remember clearl at paula vennells? i don't remember clearly at the _ paula vennells? i don't remember clearly at the time _ paula vennells? i don't remember clearly at the time for _ paula vennells? i don't remember clearly at the time for that - clearly at the time for that particular issue. we obviously didn't have concerns at that point about what was going on, what was being reported back that i can actually place exactly where it lies. in th

—— paula vennells — always winning in court? —— paula vennells. gs but i do not remember anything else in between. —— the prep meetings. out of the three things, the bit about the temptation is the one that i would have said something on, i would not have said something on, i would not have been aware of the other information.— have been aware of the other information. 9 , ., , ., ., have been aware of the other information. 9 , ., ., information. why would you have said somethin: information. why would you have said something about _ information. why would you have said something about temptation? - information. why would you have said i something about temptation? because, as i said earlier, _ something about temptation? because, as i said earlier, my _ something about temptation? because, as i said earlier, my very _ something about temptation? because, as i said earlier, my very strong - as i said earlier, my very strong view is that postmasters were very honest and hard working decent people and they did not come into default business and ther

1 with paula vennells about this e-mail? ., �* ., , with paula vennells about this e-mail?nells about this i e'mail?_ do you e-mail? i don't no. sorry. do you remember— e-mail? i don't no. sorry. do you remember discussing _ e-mail? i don't no. sorry. do you remember discussing anything i e-mail? i don't no. sorry. do you remember discussing anything to i e-mail? i don't no. sorry. do you i remember discussing anything to do with an investigation into these issues with paula vennells? i with an investigation into these issues with paula vennells? i issued the investigation _ issues with paula vennells? i issued the investigation request _ issues with paula vennells? i issued the investigation request down - issues with paula vennells? i issued the investigation request down the l the investigation request down the operations line, because i was seeing it as a technology issue. it was the reference to the federation demented topology be in the loop, plus it was her branches, if you like. we were dealing with questions from them. in like. we were dealing with questions from t

it is a letter from paula j vennells.- then back to that it is a letter from paula vennells. ing and closing of the branch in odiham. i will skip over all of— branch in odiham. i will skip over all of that— branch in odiham. i will skip over all of that because it is about whether— all of that because it is about whether and in what circumstances there _ whether and in what circumstances there should or should not be a post office _ there should or should not be a post office at _ there should or should not be a post office at odiham. over the page, there should or should not be a post office at odiham. overthe page, ms vinals _ office at odiham. overthe page, ms vinals addresses the wider issue that you — vinals addresses the wider issue that you raised. turning to your more _ that you raised. turning to your more general comments about the horizon _ more general comments about the horizon system, we handle large sums of public— horizon system, we handle large sums of public money as well as the money entrusted _ of public money as well as the money entrusted to us by the 20

vennells in may, three officer paula vennells in may, three daysin officer paula vennells in may, three days in may. the penultimate week of may, i believe. we want to hearfrom you, 85058 on the texts. you can call us as well. your chance to express solidarity, ask any questions and tell us your story, if your story hasn't yet been told. in that drama, to remind you, alan bates played by the amazing toby jones was that we have alan bates himself at ten o'clock. right now on the line to speak to and hear from, seema misra. hello.— the line to speak to and hear from, seema misra. hello.- nice i the line to speak to and hear from, seema misra. hello. hello. nice to talk again- — seema misra. hello. hello. nice to talk again- just _ seema misra. hello. hello. nice to talk again. just to _ seema misra. hello. hello. nice to talk again. just to remind - seema misra. hello. hello nice to talk again. just to remind people, pregnant with your second child when you were convicted of false accounting and theft at your branch in west byfleet. peter collins as well, a subpostmaster for 3h years in b

all of the e—mail exchanges that you had with everyone at the post office from alice perkins, paula vennellsown? about such problems with convictions? ma. were problems with convictions? no. were there any convicted sub—postmasters within it at that time? yes. i read it was about _ within it at that time? yes. i read it was about a _ within it at that time? yes. i read it was about a third _ within it at that time? yes. i read it was about a third of— within it at that time? yes. i read it was about a third of them, and that must vary over the course of time. what was the proportion? ba; time. what was the proportion? by the time we got to the] and o, the time we got to the] and 0, about_ the time we got to the] and 0, about 60 — the time we got to the] and 0, about 60 of them, about 10%, roughlx — about 60 of them, about 10%, roughly. in fact, that had been the issue _ roughly. in fact, that had been the issue that — roughly. in fact, that had been the issue that had caused problems with the original lawyers that were supporting us, in 2010, it is because _ supporting us, in 2010, it is bec

this is an e—mailfrom paula vennells e—mail from paula vennells internally e—mailfrom paula vennells and so not something you would have seen at the time. if we look at the first paragraph, she says, that she has had two very constructive telephone conversations with you which confirms your willingness to work collaboratively with the post office in taking forward our response to a review, in particular you agreed in a response to a new user forum to provide feedback on training and support issues relating to horizon and bring the existing review process to a conclusion. can you remember that, whether you gave such a commitment? i did remember that, whether you gave such a commitment?— a commitment? i did have telephone conversations — a commitment? i did have telephone conversations with _ a commitment? i did have telephone conversations with paula _ a commitment? i did have telephone conversations with paula and - a commitment? i did have telephone conversations with paula and i - a commitment? i did have telephone conversations with paula and i do - conversations with paula and i

| before it was submitted to paula vennells? .. �* before it was submitted to paula vennells? don't remember seeing that - vennells? i don't recall, i don't remember seeing that before. | vennells? i don't recall, i don't| remember seeing that before. i vennells? i don't recall, i don't- remember seeing that before. i can't be sure. d0 remember seeing that before. i can't be sure. ,, remember seeing that before. i can't be sure. ~ .. , remember seeing that before. i can't be sure. ~ ., , ., , �* be sure. do you know why it doesn't ick u - , be sure. do you know why it doesn't pick up. in — be sure. do you know why it doesn't pick up. in this _ be sure. do you know why it doesn't pick up, in this context, _ be sure. do you know why it doesn't pick up, in this context, the - be sure. do you know why it doesn't pick up, in this context, the remote| pick up, in this context, the remote access— pick up, in this context, the remote access issue?— pick up, in this context, the remote access issue? no. do you know why it access issue? no do you know why it doesn't access issue? fin. do

. —— paula vennells.ke you furious? absolutely. and notjust me furious. imagine the postmasters who've been on the sharp end of this. i mean, you're talking about a billion pounds in compensation. you“re talking about countless lives destroyed, divorces, suicides. it is absolutely horrendous. and people need to be held to account for that. that's what the inquiry is doing. the evidence you're talking about has come before the inquiry. as a result of the inquiry, which this government established, the statutory inquiry, which has powers to compel witnesses and evidence, when we've got to the bottom of this, which is what the inquiry is there for, it will conclude by the end of the year, report next year, we want people to be held to account. prosecutions? and i've been very clear where that threshold is reached in terms of criminal prosecutions, i would welcome them in taking forward. but let's look at the government's role in this because in a sense, the government was a single shareholder. do you think t

were you involved in briefing paula vennells or alice _ involved in briefing paula vennells or alicee. what i had been asked to do for the may meeting was there was two cases that they wanted me to be able to pull the information together on to be able to talk through at the first meeting and the two cases where thejo hamilton tracey merit case, they were the constituents for both of those mps. that is what i was asked to do. then that float, thejune meeting was a follow—up —— then that float. with an extended audience. my involvement wasn't in pulling together the briefing information other than my specific slot on the agenda, as it were.— other than my specific slot on the agenda, as it were. where you party to any discussion _ agenda, as it were. where you party to any discussion with _ agenda, as it were. where you party to any discussion with either- agenda, as it were. where you party to any discussion with either or - to any discussion with either or both— to any discussion with either or both of— to any discussion with either or both of miss perkins or miss vennells _ both of

and paula vennells knew about it. and paula vennells knew about it.ou bluntly, did she lie to you? | ask you bluntly, did she lie to you? yes. ~ :. ask you bluntly, did she lie to you? yes. ~ :, :, i. ~' ask you bluntly, did she lie to you? yes. ~ :, :, ,, :, :, | yes. what do you think about that? i think it is not — yes. what do you think about that? i think it is not very _ yes. what do you think about that? i think it is not very good. _ yes. what do you think about that? i think it is not very good. it _ yes. what do you think about that? i think it is not very good. it is - think it is not very good. it is absolutely shocking to leave the sub postmaster is convicted, humiliated and destroyed in their own lives. you see the families broken up, sub postmasters going bankrupt, some of them taking their own lives, when them taking their own lives, when the post office new what it was doing. and it is beyond outrageous and it is the sort of thing that we all believed with our british system ofjustice all believed with our british system of justice th

i think it follows that alice perkins, paula vennells - yes.vennells and - yes. i think it follows that alice - perkins, paula vennells and angela vanden bogarde and others did not disclose to you on the other eight mps representatives the following. "anything about the julie wolstenholme case." in which expert evidence have been served by a man called... concerning bugs in the horizon system and in which case was settled by the post office. thea;r settled by the post office. they didn't disclose _ settled by the post office. they didn't disclose that, _ settled by the post office. they didn't disclose that, no. - settled by the post office. they didn't disclose that, no. they l didn't disclose that, no. they didn't disclose that, no. they didn't mention _ didn't disclose that, no. they didn't mention the _ didn't disclose that, no. they didn't mention the case - didn't disclose that, no. they didn't mention the case of i didn't disclose that, no. they | didn't mention the case of lee castleton and the obtaining of a report from bdo hayward whi

there's so much attention around the former chief executive paula vennells.e as well asissues do with the mediation scheme as well as issues to do with the post offices disclosure to sub—postmasters and investigators, she said it's the first she had heard of some of the issues and in her words, angela has been involved in this daily for the last two years. on top of all of that, when alan bates took on the post office in court and won, thejudge alan bates took on the post office in court and won, the judge accused angela van den bogerd of having misled the court. this is only day one of her giving evidence, there will be plenty of questions for her and the sub—postmasters will want to know if they will see any accountability today. you can follow all of the inquiry live on bbc iplayer and on the bbc news website. to china next. america's top diplomat — secretary of state, antony blinken, has said washington and beijing should manage their differences responsibly on the second day of his visit to the country. mr blinken spoke in shanghai of the need for direct

can you see the one at the top is paula vennells asking you how you are _ top is paula vennells askingkdown is like for you _ you are and what lockdown is like for you. your reply is at the foot of the _ for you. your reply is at the foot of the page. hi, good to hear from you. _ of the page. hi, good to hear from you. we _ of the page. hi, good to hear from you. we are — of the page. hi, good to hear from you, we are all keeping well, thank you. you, we are all keeping well, thank you i_ you, we are all keeping well, thank you. i hope — you, we are all keeping well, thank you. i hope you are too. lockdown has been — you. i hope you are too. lockdown has been 27/7 working covid—19 crisis _ has been 27/7 working covid—19 crisis management in recent weeks but i leave — crisis management in recent weeks but i leave the post office on monday _ but i leave the post office on monday. just finalising the details of nty— monday. just finalising the details of my agreement and it's not common knowledge _ of my agreement and it's not common knowledge in work yet but the time is right— knowledge

correct. _ the most likely person was paula vennells? yes, i think so., the legal function would have sought approvalfrom the business, and the legal function would have sought approval from the business, and the business in this case would have been the person that ran the branches. thank you. thank you, mr cook, for providing your witness statements, and for coming to give evidence to the inquiry this morning. i am grateful to you. thank you, sir. how are we proceeding next? they preference i think is to switch witnesses — they preference i think is to switch witnesses immediately, if we can, and make — witnesses immediately, if we can, and make a — witnesses immediately, if we can, and make a start. by— and make a start. by all— and make a start. by all means. i will set you quietly until you do it. i think we may need a short break. yes, _ i think we may need a short break. yes. the _ i think we may need a short break. yes, the transcriber needs a short break _ break. all right. ten minutes? yes, that is fine. thank— ten minutes? yes, that is fine. t

he said paula vennells had broken her word to him and parliament. no longer agreed to work with them. ~ ., ., ., ., them. we are also hearing right now from someone _ them. we are also hearing right now from someone who _ them. we are also hearing right now from someone who chaired - them. we are also hearing right now from someone who chaired the - from someone who chaired the mediation in 2013 between the post office and the sub—postmasters, sir anthony hooper. in recalling some of that experience he seemed pretty exasperated. 5ir that experience he seemed pretty exasperated-— that experience he seemed pretty exasperated. that experience he seemed pretty exaserated. . �* ., , ., exasperated. sir anthony hooper, a 20 ear exasperated. sir anthony hooper, a 20 year high _ exasperated. sir anthony hooper, a 20 year high court _ exasperated. sir anthony hooper, a 20 year high court and _ exasperated. sir anthony hooper, a 20 year high court and court - exasperated. sir anthony hooper, a 20 year high court and court of- 20 year high court and court of a

he criticised paula vennells as well.a pulse statement to a government minister in 2012. she wrote a letter about court cases against sub—postmasters and at the time she wrote that in each incidents, every incidence, the court has found in our favour. the inquiry counseljason beer said that is just not true, when it came to successive governments lord arbuthnot said they had taken an arm's—length approach to the ownership of the post office, what they told him, and he said that wasn't quite good enough, he said there is also the problem was essentially no, not me, and compared it to owning a dangerous dog, saying that if you are owning a dangerous dog, if that dog behaves badly campsite you have got an arm's—length relationship with it, and we also heard from sir anthony hooper remediated, chaired the mediation scheme between this sub—postmasters, and the post office, he said it was, the scandal office, he said it was, the scandal was the greatest miscarriage of justice he had ever witnessed. an emotional testimony at the

some of these key moments and he has talked about the former chief executive of the royal mail paula vennellsoblem with the sound from that inquiry. as you can see, you've been in getting audio of evidence from lord arbuthnot. all you have to do is scan a qr code you can see on the screen at the moment for more on this on the bbc iplayer and you can pick up all of the latest from the inquiry and indeed we also have a special bbc news life page up and running which you will find both —— you will find our correspondence giving more on that. you will find that information at dibassy dot co .uk slash news or if you have it, the bbc news app on your mobile phone device. —— bbc.com/news. live from london. this is bbc news kazakhstan and russia's worst flooding in almost a century forces tens of thousands of people from their homes. spain's prime minister pedro sanchez says recognising a palestinian state is in europe's best interests. a review finds children have been let down by "weak" evidence about gender treatment. england joins a list of european nations limiting medical intervention. arizona'

she former ceo paula vennells, she still has to give evidence.— has to give evidence.idence across four days at the end of may, and it does feel a lot of what we've been hearing from her former colleagues the last few weeks is laying the groundwork for her appearance. weeks is laying the groundwork for herappearance. she, of course, like angela van den bogerd, has made statements to mps, she's made statements to mps, she's made statements to mps, she's made statements to the media, and she's made statements to court. what they want to drill down on is it any other statements were false. paula vennells says she is sorry for what has happened to victims and their family, she said she is cooperating with the inquiry and doesn't want to make any further statement ahead of it. we do know there were certain lines of questioning opened up in terms of a letter she has written to mps, saying the court has always found in their favour when mps, saying the court has always found in theirfavour when it mps, saying the court has always found in their favour when it has come to the

it has emerged that paula vennells, the boss, had asked her husband for tips. suggestions ended up in a formal briefing note that paula vennells used for mps. susan crichton was asked to explain that. it's absolutely orwellian, isn't it, the word "exception" now instead of "bug"? changing the language within the company, crafting a briefing that now refers to... did you not take responsibility for that briefing, given that you were one of the people drafting it? if i had solely drafted it, it had been my work, i then i would have taken - responsibility, or would take responsibility for it. i don't have... i can't remember that. this was all smoke and mirrors, the inquiry heard. susan crichton will continue answering questions for the rest of the day. emma simpson, thank you. an extreme form of soil erosion is causing entire communities to disappear across africa and latin america. experts have told the bbc that gully erosion is advancing at a worrying speed, because of deforestation and extreme weather, as well as a lack of urban planning. stephanie hegarty has

paula vennells, the former chief executive of the post office, someone who was at the highest levelse is expected to appear in may. so there will be big questions for them. one of the main messages, the inquiry had at the beginning today, was they want to see more prompt disclosure from the post office. delays have been a constant theme of this inquiry in the past few months. they have had to deal with tens of thousands of documents that therefore respecting deadlines is important. let's go back to the inquiry and hear what else alan bates had to say.— inquiry and hear what else alan bates had to say. august 2003, you remember where _ bates had to say. august 2003, you remember where we _ bates had to say. august 2003, you remember where we are _ bates had to say. august 2003, you remember where we are in - bates had to say. august 2003, you remember where we are in the - remember where we are in the narrative, you have been given notice of termination of your contract. i think one of the first things you did was right to the chairman of the royal mail, is that right? chairman of the

she was paula vennells' right hand woman — one of the big characters in the drama at the centre of so. desperate — he was really desperate. and overseeing complaints from sub—postmasters. she was also involved in the mediation scheme, supposed to help them. angela van den bogerd, head of partnerships. here she is sitting next to ceo paula vennells before mps when they were told the post office had found no evidence of any miscarriages ofjustice. what we've wanted to do and been very committed to doing is doing a thorough investigation on each of the issues raised by each of the applications. we've not dragged our feet. but this was all part of the alleged cover up. i've managed to find some letters. later that year, parmod kalia got a letter from angela. he was wrongly convicted of stealing from his post office in 2001 and sent to prison. he wrote in after seeing a bbc panorama, asking the post office to look again at his case. horizon does not have functionality that allows post office or fujitsu to edit or delete the transactions recorded by branches. well... that wasn't correct. we

that includes paula vennells, that the former chief executive, due to speak in may. seen today from alan bates is his correspondence with the post office. alan bates, a former sub—postmaster who has been leading the campaign calling for accountability, that is why his campaign group is called thejustice for sub—postmaster is alliance. a lot of what he has been showing is flagging issues with the horizon it scandal and received no response. this has been difficult to relive for some of the hundreds of victims who have gone through this scandal and some of whom are here today. i want to introduce you to one of them. anna who is with me and has been listening to this throughout the day. anna, you know are here for the day. anna, you know are here for the first day sharing your story, and what has happened to you. you said it was difficult, in your own words, what is it that you have been through? it is difficult reliving this and saying it aloud, talking to the press, our contract was terminated 2003 but they ran the post office from 2003 to 2007 on our premises for 2.5

paula vennells. why did you need to talk to her first? vennells.er first?— to her first? i don't know, really. i to her first? i don't know, really. i obviously _ to her first? i don't know, really. i obviously thought _ to her first? i don't know, really. i obviously thought it _ to her first? i don't know, really. i obviously thought it was - to her first? i don't know, really. i obviously thought it was a - to her first? i don't know, really. i obviously thought it was a good j i obviously thought it was a good idea to the time. this was a network issue and she was responsible for the network. there were two lines i could go down, i the operations director line responsible for the technology, or i could go down the network line, which was paula. we were focusing, i was focusing too much on the operations line and pollinated to be brought into the picture. pollinated to be brought into the icture. ., ., ., picture. could we go to the page before, please, _ picture. could we go to the page before, please, just _ picture. could we go to the page be

, you and some other people _ paula vennells, you and some other people including jo swinson with thece, read this. this afternoon i received the following e—mail. a prime example of the thuggery being exerted on defenceless sub—postmasters is the post office denied legal representation are arrogant and uncontrolled post office personnel. despite _ uncontrolled post office personnel. despite assurances from on high that this type _ despite assurances from on high that this type of— despite assurances from on high that this type of thing is in the past, it's this type of thing is in the past, its clear— this type of thing is in the past, it's clear from the post office's actions — it's clear from the post office's actions that it's still alive and active — actions that it's still alive and active. and then the e—mail he received — active. and then the e—mail he received - _ active. and then the e—mail he received — hello, alan, iam writing on behalf— received — hello, alan, iam writing on behalf of— received — hello, alan, iam writing on behalf of my son—in—law martin griffiths. _ on b

then three days of questioning of paula vennells.s stepped down from his position as vice—chair of the party's backbench 1922 committee. he's apologised after admitting he shared the phone numbers of colleagues with someone he met on a dating app. mr wragg is leaving parliament at the general election and has so far faced no disciplinary action by the conservative party. simon harris is expected to be formally appointed as the new irish prime minister today. aged 37, he'll be the youngest person to hold the post. he replaces leo varadkar, who announced last month that he was stepping down for personal and political reasons. mr harris has already been nicknamed the "tiktok taoiseach" because of his social media skills. that is hidden in those needing pitches, not the one we showed behind me. around 100 people have been evacuated from a holiday park in west sussex after severe flooding caused by high tides and winds. the fire service and the coastguard have been rescuing residents overnight. elsewhere in the region, heavy rain has caus

they are a big community and they want to be here to hear paula vennells answer difficult questions will. more than 20 years. today we will hearfrom lord arbuthnot. we have announcements coming in. lord arbuthnot will be appearing today, he is a tory peer and former mp. sanchia berg's report has a preview of the proceedings today. across the country, many small post offices are still valued by their communities. once, jo hamilton ran her own small post office, then she fell foul of the horizon computer system. wrongly prosecuted for false accounting, she turned to her local mp. for many years, james, now lord arbuthnot, has been the postmasters' most trusted voice in parliament, demanding answers from ministers and post office executives. this morning, he will take his turn at the post office inquiry, along with the retired appeal court judge, who chaired the first failed attempt at mediation back in 2013. former postmaster alan bates gave evidence yesterday, covering 23 years of battling the post office in just a few hours. it began when he was a postmaster, asking question after questi

the inquiry heard. that in this letter to a government minister in 2012 than chief executive paula vennellsad found in the favour of the post office. the lead counsel to the inquiry had this to say about that. that is a false statement that in every instance the courts have found in our favour, every instance the courts have found in ourfavour, it isjust every instance the courts have found in our favour, it is just not true. would you have known that was a false _ would you have known that was a false statement at the time? no. zero arbuthnot _ false statement at the time? no. zero arbuthnot was _ false statement at the time? iirm zero arbuthnot was played in false statement at the time? i157. zero arbuthnot was played in the itv drama by alex jennings. zero arbuthnot was played in the itv drama by alexjennings. he first started fighting for the sub—postmasters is a conservative mp when he became aware of the plight of his constituentjo hamilton. she was at the hearing today but was not the only one he spoke of before. we would the only one he spoke of before. - would not have got as far a

centre stage will be former post office boss paula vennells. the horizon it system. if there had been any miscarriages ofjustice, it would have been really important to me and the post office that we actually surface those. and, as the investigations have gone through so far, we've had no evidence of that. of course, there'll be dozens of other witnesses — from board members and barristers, to key politicians and government officials. first up, though, in the witness chair, will be alan bates. people have got to be held accountable. i see no sign of it yet, er... but i think, after the inquiry, then i think that's definitely the next stage. and then we start looking at prosecutions. notjust that, as well — i mean, huge bonuses have been paid to people over the years. some of that should be clawed back. all eyes are now on what this inquiry is about to uncover. we've done the groundwork. we've found out the system was broken and that people knew the system was broken. so now we're going to find out what the leaders of the post office did with th

amanda vanden bogarde was asked if she believed what paula vennells said.g in the horizon scandal. she was asked if she apologised for her role in the scandal knowing what she knows now. she said she apologised for not getting to the answer more quickly but the evidence she had, she said she did the best she could and blamed fujitsu for not being transparent. you can continue watching that evidence on the bbc iplayer and if you havejustjoined us and want a summary of the evidence that we have been hearing during the afternoon, we have a special live page on the bbc news website or app where you can get all of the evidence that has been presented during the day. right now on bbc news, we are going to get a cheque on the weather with chris fawkes. hello there, the weather will stay on the chilly side for the next few days. satellite picture shows an area of low pressure in the north sea with some patches of cloud bringing some rain to england and wales. scotland is where the cheapest weather is at the moment, those brighter skies will spread to northern irela

entire ordeal because, remember, this has been a decades long fight, including paula venables —— paula vennells website via the qr code to see our right page —— live page. you can see some of the key moments and testimony from alan bates, champion of the sub—postmaster two and the fight against the post office, stay with us on bbc news. just to let you know, we are waiting for a news conference between lord cameron, uk foreign secretary and his counterpart antony blinken, they have been holding talks in washington so we are waiting for that news conference and when it begins we will bring it to you. other news. a man has been arrested after a woman was stabbed in bradford city centre. danny savage has the latest. his image has been everywhere four days but he has now been detained, a nationwide appeal to find him, last known location near a park in bradford after a woman fatally stabbed in the city centre. . kulsuma akter was walking with a young baby and was stabbed multiple times. the 27—year—old was pushing her baby in a pram at the time, the child was unharmed. we now know habibur masum was

at the end of may, it will hear from former chief executive paula vennells for the first time.ail, presidentjoe biden and former president donald trump are neck and neck in most of the seven swing states that could decide the november election. the candidates are continuing to make campaign stops with mr biden in wisconsin this week touting his economic policies and mr trump in pennsylvania and michigan, that's where bbc news chief presenter caitriona perry has been on the ground speaking to voters. motown music and motor city — for decades, detroit was booming but then came bankruptcy, blight, decline. detroit is turning itself around with a low unemployment and falling inflation yet only one—third of residents make a living wage. michigan is a key swing state, barack obama won comfortably here, donald trump flipped the state in 2016 by a margin ofjust over 10,000 voters, joe biden flipped it back, to win in 2020. both men notably difficult to win the white house without winning michigan. both candidates have been trying to shore up the blue—collar workers here, including thos

office inquiry into the faulty horizon computer system has heard that the former chief executive, paula vennellstive way to describe a computer bug. giving evidence today, susan crichton, the company's former in—house lawyer was asked how his suggestion to describe them as "exceptions" or "anomalies" later appeared in a briefing document that was discussed with mps. ms crichton said she couldn't remember any conversations about swapping the words. prince louis, the youngest child of the prince and princess of wales has turned six today. his mother, princess catherine, took this photo to mark his birthday. kensington palace has stressed it is unedited following the controversy over changes to her mother's day family photograph. the prince and princess of wales have said they are grateful for birthday messages for their son. just seven months after the welsh government lowered the speed limit in built—up areas right across wales to 20 miles per hour, it looks like it's all about to change again in some places with the speed limit going back up again. our wales correspondent, hywel griffth, is in c

inquiry heard that in this letter to a government minister in 2012, the then chief executive paula vennellsd been prosecuted, the courts had found in the post office's favour. the lead counsel to the inquiry, jason beer, had this to say about that. that is a false statement that in every instance the courts have found in our favour. it isjust not true. would you have known at the time that that was a false statement? no, i wouldn't. lord arbuthnot was played in the itv drama by alex jennings. he first started fighting for the subpostmasters as a conservative mp when he became aware of the plight of his constituent, jo hamilton. she was at today's hearing, but she was not the only one he spoke up for. we would not have got as far as we have without him supporting us. i don't really know whether he understands just how much love and respect he has got from subpostmasters, but he really should know that. we do respect him such a lot. he is so down the line. the truth is all that matters. justice is all that matters. that report from zoe conway. we will be live at that inquiry later. a major re

language, that suggested language, came from the husband of the chief executive of the post office, paula vennells is that to think about when that conversation was happening, when these conversations were happening about language it's the summer of 2013, a really significant moment in this entire post office saga, because it is that summer that the post office board is shown a report by the forensic accountant brought in look at the horizon system, and they have found two computer bugs that have caused problems in 70 post office branches, and what we learned today was, how did the post office board react to that report? and what we heard, really, was a series of memos, e—mails, we were shown minutes that really showed, in the words of the council to the inquiry, in his view, an attempt at a cover—up, but really what really showed through was concerns about the national reputation of the post office following that report, there was a one point and e—mailfrom the head of finance, board they would not be liable for what was found in that report, there was really a concern there about the reputationa

ex chief executive paula vennells, who was stripped of her cbe earlier this year, will give three days the post office chief executive, watched on as alan bates gave evidence. counsel to the inquiryjason beer are read out an internal post office memo that had said alan bates had been an unmanageable subpostmaster, and the memo said he did not follow instructions despite copious support. instructions despite copious su ort. ~ , ., instructions despite copious su--ort.~ ., , support. were you given copious su ort? support. were you given copious support? laughter _ support? laughter no. what alan bates has been describing this morning has been what it has been like fighting the post office over the last two decades. he talked about in a witness statement how the post office has been denying, lying, defending and attempting to discredit him and other subpostmasters after the last... over the last two decades. what we also heard about this morning was the late disclosure of documents by the late disclosure of documents by the post office. we heard that since the post office. we heard that

i think you got a letter back from paula - got a letter back from paula vennells. we can chase that down if that is wrong. this is your letter to the minister, it has been passed to the minister, it has been passed to me from reply, it says, since the publication of the second site report, the post office has worked collaboratively? is that true? to a very small — collaboratively? is that true? to a very small degree. _ collaboratively? is that true? to a very small degree. and _ collaboratively? is that true? to a very small degree. and designed l collaboratively? is that true? to a i very small degree. and designed the initial mediation _ very small degree. and designed the initial mediation scheme _ very small degree. and designed the initial mediation scheme and - very small degree. and designed the initial mediation scheme and it - very small degree. and designed the initial mediation scheme and it was l initial mediation scheme and it was agreed with you and put on your website, that is correct? yes. the post office _ website, that is correct? yes. the post o

of who knew what and where his correspondence and conversations with executives, people like paula vennellsinquiry in may, that correspondence and knowledge will be crucial. his language has been very strong in the past. he said there was a perversion of the course ofjustice, and that he believes people connected to this scandal should face a long spell in jail. siranthony scandal should face a long spell in jail. sir anthony hooper is someone else who will be appearing today. he chaired the mediation scheme between the post office and the sub—postmaster is. that started in about 2013 and it wasn't seen as a success, given his role as chair, he will have a lot of knowledge about scandal, the issues at stake, and he also previously raised questions about the horizon system as well as the guilt of the former sub—postmasters, most of whom, all of whom we know are actually victims. ~ . . , of whom we know are actually victims. . ., ., , ., , ., victims. what are they hoping to achieve once _ victims. what are they hoping to achieve once this _ victims. what are they hoping to achieve once this

described problems with its horizon it system based on a suggestion by the husband of former boss, paula vennellsing advice from john vennells, the post office stopped referring to "bugs", and instead called them "anomalies and exceptions" because it was less emotive. prince louis, the youngest child of the prince and princess of wales is 6 today. to celebrate his birthday, a new photograph has been released by kensington palace — it was taken by his mother — catherine, princess of wales. after the controversy over changes to a mother's day family photograph, kensington palace has assured that this picture has not been edited. you are watching bbc news. in the months before the 2016 election, donald trump picked up the phone and called the former publisher of the national enquirer david pecker to discuss whether to pay off a playboy model who was shopping around a story of having a year—long affair with the then presidential candidate. pecker, the prosecution's first witness in the hush money—case, told the court today that he mostly dealt with trump attorney and fixer michael cohen but the two o

at the end of may, it will hear from former chief executive paula vennells for the first time.onald trump are neck and neck in most of the seven swing states that could decide the november election. the candidates are continuing to make campaign stops with mr biden in wisconsin this week touting his economic policies. and mr trump in pennsylvania and michigan, that's where our chief presenter caitriona perry is on the ground speaking to voters. what are you seeing and hearing?— what are you seeing and hearinu? ., ~ . what are you seeing and hearinu? . ~ . i. hearing? thanks, michelle, you are very welcome _ hearing? thanks, michelle, you are very welcome to _ hearing? thanks, michelle, you are very welcome to detroit, i are very welcome to detroit, michigan here. michigan one of the seven battleground states that will most likely decide the election, decide who is the next president of america, the others being wisconsin, north carolina, arizona and nevada. the races really syed kamall of the policy last month have donald trump ahead ofjoe biden by up donald trump ahead ofjoe b

inquiry heard that in this letter to a government minister in 2012, the then chief executive paula vennellsvour. the lead counsel to the inquiry, jason bure, had this to say about that. that counsel to the inquiry, jason bure, had this to say about that.- had this to say about that. that is a false statement _ had this to say about that. that is a false statement that _ had this to say about that. that is a false statement that in - had this to say about that. that is a false statement that in every i a false statement that in every instance — a false statement that in every instance the courts have found in our favour — instance the courts have found in ourfavour. it instance the courts have found in our favour. it isjust not true. would — our favour. it isjust not true. would you _ our favour. it isjust not true. would you have known at the time that that _ would you have known at the time that that was a false statement? no, i wouldn't. lord _ that that was a false statement? no, i wouldn't. lord arbuthnot _ that that was a false statement? no, i wouldn't. lord arbuthnot was - i wouldn't

been a half day for every single person who has appeared, there are a lot of questions to ask paula vennellshis because of the drama you mentioned, mr bates vs the post office. and this week, her name came up, and there was a serious allegation made by jason up, and there was a serious allegation made byjason beer, the inquiry counsel, when he said in a comment to a government minister in 2012 she made a false statement, she said, she was talking about court cases against the sub—postmasters and in every instance she said the court had found in the post office favour and followed that by saying it�*s just not true. so favour and followed that by saying it�*sjust not true. so moments favour and followed that by saying it�*s just not true. so moments that are certainly going to be put to her. the testimony she has previously given to mps will be put to her, so this is really building up to her, so this is really building up to that week, that big moment, and i have spoken to a lot of the victims here who have said they all want to be here for that.— victims here who have said they all want to

, and also office, paula vennells, and also a shocking story about britain becoming the couch potatoasking, is david miliband right? that brexit has made the uk a lower status nafion made the uk a lower status nation ? well, the results are nation? well, the results are in. i shall reveal all next. now, we've been conducting an exclusive mark dolan tonight people's poll. we've been asking, is david miliband right? that brexit has made the uk a lower status nation ? well, 16.6% lower status nation? well, 16.6% say yes, whilst . 83.4% say no. say yes, whilst. 83.4% say no. i agree with that. group now let's get reaction to all of tomorrow's big stories with former adviser to boris johnson, lord kulveer, ranger, journalist and communications advisor linda jubilee and author and campaigner for children in care chris wild and maria. you've got some front pages for me. let's have a look at what we've got. start with the times newspaper now and we shall go for this , now and we shall go for this, rise of the 24 hour wait for a bed in a and e. and i think that's. and i think that's us. and ho