Post Office Scandal: Alexander Stafford MP says 'more needs to be done' after Paula Vennells gives up CBE

The Post Office and Fujitsu must be held financially accountable for the Horizon Scandal after Paula Vennells agreed to give up her CBE, a Conservative MP has said.

Ms Vennells, the former Post Office CEO, gave in to growing social pressure to hand back her CBE after the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office sparked national support for hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses who were wrongfully convicted of false accounting, despite known problems in the Horizon software in their computers.

There were more than 900 convictions linked to the scandal over 16 years - only 93 have been overturned since.

Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office prosecuted hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses after a known problem in the Horizon software showed financial losses in Post Office branches.

The new attention on the scandal has prompted the Conservative government to announce legislation to help with the exonerations of wrongful convictions, but one local Tory MP believes more must be done.

Alexander Stafford, MP for Rother Valley, said in a constituency newsletter: "The Post Office and Fujitsu to be held financially accountable - and individuals responsible prosecuted.

"The remaining convictions need to be overturned as soon as possible by our legal system and I am pleased that the Government has already made announcements on how we will get this done." In his newsletter, Mr Stafford outlines the governments new legislation in which those who were false convicted are entitled to both an interim compensation payment of £163,000 as well as a £600,000 up-front compensation offer or having their full compensation individually assessed for a different amount.

Mr Stafford continued: "I will continue to fully support any and all measures which will speed up the delivery of justice and compensation to the victims.

"When news broke that former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells... would be handing back her CBE, my initial reaction was: 'good!'... But more needs to be done and we will do it."