In a statement released this afternoon, former CEO of the Post Office Paula Vennells confirmed she would hand back her CBE immediately following a petition, organised by 38 Degrees, which attracted over 1.2 million signatures.

‘I am aware of the calls from sub-postmasters and others to return my CBE with immediate effect,’ said Vennells. ‘I am truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families, whose lives were torn apart by being wrongly accused and wrongly prosecuted as a result of the Horizon system.

‘I now intend to focus on assisting the inquiry and will not make any further public comment until it is concluded.’

The move came after increasing pressure from MPs and the public to revoke the hundreds of convictions given to postmasters which have not been quashed. They were wrongfully accused of fraud after the Horizon accounting system used by postmasters was found to be faulty and recorded the wrong totals, leading to discrepancies in the accounts when the daily reconciliations were completed.

The Horizon accounting system was provided by Fujitsu, and was rolled out to thousands of Post Offices across the UK. It is still maintained by the Japanese tech company which still handles millions of pounds worth of public sector contracts.

Vennells was given the CBE in 2019 by the Conservative government.