She has become the face of one of the biggest scandals in British history. Paula Vennells enjoyed a life of success and respect as the boss of the Post Office between 2012 and 2019.
Here, we take a look at the rise of fall of Paula Vennells - from her childhood in Greater Manchester to her tenure at the Post Office during one of biggest miscarriages of justice the UK has ever seen. After leaving school, she went on to study French, Russian and economics at the University of Bradford, where she would meet her future husband.
The mum-of-two later issued an apology to the victims, which was heavily scrutinised. "I am truly sorry we were unable to find both a solution and a resolution outside of litigation and for the distress this caused," she said. She has two adult sons with husband John, who she met at the university dinghy club. Now retired, he was formerly global vice-president at the international engineering firm ABB. They married in 1994 and are believed to live near Bedford.