Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells has stepped down from a number of non-executive director positions folllowing the IT scandal that rocked the British institution.
Vennells has relinquished her position on the boards of both Dunelm and Morrisons with immediate effect.
She has served as non-executive director at the supermarket since 2016 and held the same position with the furnishings retailer since 2019.
She has also ceased her duties as an ordained Church of England minister.
Vennells served as chief executive at the Post Office from 2012 to 2019, during which time an IT scandal led to the wrongful convictions of hundreds of Post Office workers as a faulty system identified shortfalls in accounts that did not exist.
39 former postmasters’ criminal convictions were overturned last week with more appeals in the works.
Vennells said: “It is obvious that my involvement with the Post Office has become a distraction from the good work undertaken by the boards I serve. I have therefore stepped down with immediate effect from all of my board positions.”
Dunelm chair Andy Harrison said: “We respect Paula’s decision to step down from the board and I would like to thank her for the positive contribution she has made to the business since her appointment in September 2019.”
Morrisons chair Andrew Higginson added: “Paula has been an insightful, effective and hardworking non-executive director, and, on behalf of the board, I want to thank her for her significant contribution over the past five years.”
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