Paula Venells was the CEO of the Post Office during the scandal where numerous subpostmasters were blamed for missing funds. Under her leadership, the Post Office prosecuted sub-postmasters for theft, false accounting and fraud, despite evidence that its Horizon computer system was unreliable and could incorrectly show financial discrepancies. Acting as a private prosecutor, the Post Office repeatedly failed to make full disclosure of known Horizon problems either to defendants or to the courts.

In December 2019, the Post Office paid out £58 million to sub-postmasters who were awarded compensation for past false prosecutions of monetary theft that had been based on faulty evidence from the Horizon IT system. The judge presiding on the case, Mr Justice Fraser, described the Post Office's approach to the case as "institutional obstinacy"

In April 2021, thirty-nine of the convicted former postmasters had their convictions quashed, with a further twenty two cases still being investigated by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Earlier in December 2020, the convictions of six other former postmasters were overturned due to wrongful conviction.

During their fight for justice, many of the sub postmasters have died and at least four committed suicide. The Government has still not paid the outstanding compensation to all those affected and, as recently as October 2023, renewed the Post Office IT contract with Fujitsu for a further two years.

Despite this scandalous behaviour, in the 2019 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for services to the Post Office and to charity"

Honours can be taken away from people who have done something to damage the honours system’s reputation. Taking an honour away is called ‘forfeiture’. An honour can be withdrawn (or ‘forfeited’) for a variety of reasons. This might include being found guilty of a criminal offence, behaviour which results in censure by a regulatory or a professional body, or any other behaviour that is deemed to bring the honours system into disrepute.

Recommendations to remove honours are considered by the Forfeiture Committee. This petition calls for the Cabinet Office (honours@cabinetoffice.gov.uk), to remove the CBE awarded to Paula Vennels on the grounds that she has brought the Honours system into disrepute.