Angela van den Bogerd responds to accusations at the Horizon IT Inquiry, asserting that she did not engage in misconduct with subpostmistress Jennifer O’Dell.

Angela van den Bogerd, a former senior Post Office executive, has strongly denied accusations of bullying and intimidating a subpostmistress wrongly convicted of theft. The allegations were raised during her second day of testimony at the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry in central London.

Van den Bogerd was questioned about several subpostmasters and their branches, with Sam Stein KC accusing the helpline of committing fraud by asking subpostmasters to pay shortfalls. Van den Bogerd was asked if she believed such practices were fair, to which she responded that she had expected subpostmasters to receive assistance in understanding any discrepancies.

The inquiry turned its focus to subpostmistress Jennifer O’Dell, who had been accused of stealing thousands of pounds from her Cambridgeshire branch. O’Dell had called the helpline multiple times to contest the charges. Van den Bogerd admitted that O’Dell’s case should have been escalated and she should have received a call back, but denied any involvement in intimidation. When Stein suggested she had bullied O’Dell by claiming she had stolen money and threatened to take her home away, van den Bogerd firmly rejected the accusation. “That conversation did not happen,” she stated.

Additionally, an email from fraud analyst Helen Rose, sent to Van den Bogerd in February 2013, raised concerns over the accuracy of audit record logs being used in court. Van den Bogerd claimed she did not address the issue at the time, as it fell outside her knowledge scope. When asked by the inquiry’s lead counsel, Jason Beer KC, whether the email raised any alarm bells for her, she replied, “Not for me at the time.”

The inquiry also examined the tragic case of Martin Griffiths, a subpostmaster from Cheshire, who was sacked from his branch and later took his own life after being blamed for an armed robbery. Emails from Griffiths’ mother suggested the Post Office’s treatment had driven him to suicide. However, Van den Bogerd confirmed that her first response to the situation was not to offer support to the grieving family but rather to consider hiring a media lawyer.

When questioned about her reaction to the suicide email, Van den Bogerd admitted that public relations were highly prioritised during her time at the Post Office. “I was very conscious that PR was very important,” she explained.

Van den Bogerd, who held various roles during her 35-year career at the Post Office, including director of people and change, left the organisation in 2020. Her testimony has been a critical element of the inquiry into one of the UK’s most significant miscarriages of justice. The Horizon IT system, which falsely indicated missing money in branch accounts, led to the wrongful conviction of over 700 subpostmasters between 1999 and 2015.

Despite the quashing of over 100 convictions, many victims are still awaiting compensation, with the government pledging £600,000 payouts to those whose convictions were overturned.