ITV Mr Bates v Post Office: Petition to strip former CEO of CBE

The petition calls on the Awards Forfeiture Committee to remove Ms Vennells CBE after the scandal was highlighted in the new ITV drama.

The scandal has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history and took place while Ms Vennells was in charge of the Royal Mail, which regularly denied there were any problems with the Horizon IT system.

The motion, addressed to Sir Chris Wormald, chairman of the Confiscation Committee, said: “Evidence was presented that Mail engaged in a massive cover-up that resulted in the illegal prosecution of 550 Post Office employees, many of whom were subsequently imprisoned, bankrupted, and in some cases, sadly, committed suicide.

Former postmaster Paula Venels (Image: PA)

“Having been awarded a CBE for services to the Post Office and gone on to other senior roles in government and health, it is only right that this award is now withdrawn in a confiscation process.”

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed a report that Justice Minister Alex Chalk was considering ways to clear the names of convicted postal service chiefs involved in the scandal.

More than 700 Mail Branch managers have been condemned after Fujitsu's faulty accounting software was called out Horizon gave the impression that money had disappeared from their stores.

It is reported that Mr. Cholk is going to meet with Mail Minister Kevin Hollinrake on Monday to discuss how to help convicted branch managers.

The scandal sparked fresh public backlash after ITV aired a drama about the scandal last week starring actor Toby Jones.

According to reports, 50 new potential victims have contacted lawyers since Mr. Bates v. The Post aired.

The Post Office is fully owned by the government and the Horizon public inquiry is ongoing.

Speaking during a visit to Oxford on Sunday, the prime minister said the UK government was “willing to do everything we can because it was absolutely appalling” and “should never have happened”.

He said: “This was an appalling miscarriage of justice and appalling treatment of all the people affected and it is right that they should receive the compensation they deserve.

“That is why the Government has put in place three different compensation schemes which have already paid out almost £150 million to thousands of people who have been affected and want to go as soon as possible.

“More broadly, the Justice Secretary is also looking at other options for how we can support people.”

Ms Vennells said she was “sincerely sorry” for the “suffering” caused by deputy chiefs who were wrongly convicted of offences.

Scotland Yard said on Friday that officers were “investigating potential fraud offenses arising from these prosecutions”, such as “money recovered from deputy postmasters as a result of prosecutions or civil actions”.

The Metropolitan Police have already looked into potential perjury and perjury charges in relation to investigations and prosecutions carried out by the post office.

A petition called Post Office Scandal: Strip Paula Vennells of its CBE reached one million signatures just after midnight on Monday.