A key Post Office figure depicted in the ITV drama has taken the stand at the Inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal today.
Angela van den Bogerd – who worked closely with ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells – is giving evidence from over two days. She was portrayed by Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly in the hit ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office which first aired back in January.
Van den Bogerd immediately issued an apology to the victims of the scandal after being sworn in, saying today: “Saying sorry I know doesn’t change what has happened but I do want to say to everyone impacted by wrongful convictions, and wrongful contract terminations that I am truly truly sorry to the devastation caused to you, your family and friends.”
Ms van den Bogerd’s career at the Post Office spanned 35 years before she became head of partnership and the director of people and change. She was in charge of handling complaints about the faulty Horizon system that led to the wrongful convictions of hundreds of ex-subpostmasters
She was heavily criticised in the 2019 High Court action launched by Post Office scandal hero Alan Bates where the judge accused her of misleading the court.
A fortnight ago she refused to answer questions to an ITV reporter outside her home. She said she won’t be “making any further comment until the Inquiry”.
Angela van den Bogerd is pressed about what her actual job was after repeatedly saying she couldn’t “recall” information, wasn’t “party” to conversations, or wasn’t involved in prosecutions.
Jason Beer said: “Not involved in briefing, not involved in IT, not involved in the provision of information concerning Horizon to Second Sight, not involved in investigating those early complaints about Horizon, not involved in considering the impact of the Second Sight report on convictions. What were you doing at this time?”
She said she had a “separate role”, adding: “I was doing whatever my business-as-usual role was and I was working closely on at this point, on the spot reviews with SecondSight.”
