Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells broken down in tears twice mid-evidence as she made an emotional appearance at the Horizon IT inquiry.
She stopped mid-answer and reached for a tissue as she was grilled about why she had told MPs that the Post Office had been successful in every case against subpostmasters.
The 65-year-old ordained priest also became visibly upset as the inquiry looked into the Post Office's response to the suicide of subpostmaster Martin Griffiths in 2013.
As she gave evidence on Wednesday, Ms Vennells admitted she "made mistakes" but denied there was a conspiracy to cover up the scandal.
She apologised for a comment she made to MPs in June 2012, when she said subpostmasters had been "tempted to put their hands in the till" - adding that it was an "assumption" she made.
The former chief executive said there was no "motivation" to put the needs of the Post Office over the suffering of subpostmasters but added: "There will be many examples of where that is clearly the case because the Post Office got this very wrong."
