Former Post Office executive, Angela van den Bogerd, appeared at the inquiry today to provide evidence regarding the faulty Horizon system. Van den Bogerd, who spent over 30 years at the Post Office and was the former people services director, handled complaints about the system.
During her testimony, she expressed her sincere apologies to the hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted due to the failures of the Horizon system. She acknowledged the “devastation” caused and stated that she was “truly, truly sorry” for it.
Van den Bogerd also denied any knowledge of further emails in 2011 and 2014 that detailed the issue of remote access, despite this being a key point of questioning throughout the day. When questioned about the official Post Office line to deny remote access, she stated that she “must have missed” the email and insisted that there was no intention to cover up the issue.
The former executive also admitted that she was aware of complaints regarding Horizon dating back to 2004, but at the time, there was no system in place to investigate them. She rejected the suggestion that Post Office bosses had attempted to “drip a little poison” into the ears of MPs by implying that sub-postmasters were tempted to steal from tills.
Today marked the first time in five years that Van den Bogerd has provided evidence about the faulty Horizon system. This inquiry has brought to light the crucial role that missed emails may have played in the claims of a cover up by the Post Office. Stay tuned for further updates on this ongoing investigation.
