Ex-minister 'felt threatened' at meeting with Post Office bosses

Lady Neville-Rolfe, who was postal minister when the Post Office's defence of the Horizon IT system and prosecution of post office operators was being increasingly questioned, has recounted a "threatening" meeting with its executives where she says it was intimated she should "watch out".

- Mark Sweney

She told the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal that her increasing scepticism and disillusionment at the advice given by civil servants and the proposal of an independent review of the situation led to the heated meeting with leading figures at the Post Office, including the chief executive at the time, Paula Vennells.

Neville-Rolfe, who held the role of postal minister for 14 months until July 2016, told the hearing yesterday: "There was just this memory that I felt slightly threatened at the meeting. There was this threatening feeling that I should watch out. I do recall finding one of the Post Office attendees to be particularly overbearing and dismissive of my concerns." The former senior Tesco executive said that before the meeting she had become frustrated with what she saw as a one-sided view of the Horizon IT system and the prosecutions from civil servants and the Post Office.