A former north Essex sub-postmaster who was wrongfully convicted over the Horizon IT scandal has spoken of his "delight" that an ex-Post Office boss is handing back her CBE honour.

On Tuesday, Paula Vennells, the mail company's chief executive between 2012 and 2019, announced she would be handing back the gong after facing mounting pressure, including a petition that collected a million signatures.

She was recognised for her services to the Post Office and charity.

READ MORE: North Essex sub-postmaster's joy at ITV Horizon series

READ MORE: Former Essex postmaster who was 'first to use Horizon' speaks out on the scandal

Ian Warren, who ran the Post Office in Castle Hedingham, was wrongfully convicted of stealing £18,000 due to 'bugs, errors and defects' in the Horizon computer programme, while 736 sub-postmasters and mistresses faced legal action for theft, fraud and false accounting due to the faulty software.

He said: "Personally, I am delighted that Paula Vennells has decided to hand her honour back rather than wait for the absolute inevitability of having it taken from her."

The plight of the sub-postmasters has been highlighted by the ITV series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which has led to the government pledging to take action to speed up the quashing of convictions for sub-postmasters who are yet to have their names cleared.

READ MORE: Suffolk: Subpostmaster 'not fully compensated' for Horizon

Halstead Gazette: Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells has announced that she will be handing back her CBEFormer Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells has announced that she will be handing back her CBE (Image: PA)Mr Warren said he was "hopeful" that there would be "real action" and said he had never known such a reaction to a piece of TV drama as there had been to the new series.

He added: "It is monumental. In my lifetime I have never known a reaction like this to a piece of TV drama and of course it is all to the good because all of a sudden we, the victims of the Post Office scandal, are looking very likely to be sorted out by the government.

"I am assuming that (Prime Minister) Rishi Sunak is a man of his word and I have no reason to doubt that fact and I believe him when he says that he is going to rush legislation through.

"We are going to get this sorted. We are going to get this sorted fast."

Mr Warren is also awaiting compensation in relation to the scandal.