Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells will hand back her CBE following the Horizon IT scandal.
The scandal - which has been widely reported in the recent ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office - led to the wrongful conviction of hundreds of postmasters and postmistresses.
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Vennells said in a statement: "I continue to support and focus on co-operating with the inquiry and expect to be giving evidence in the coming months.
"I have so far maintained my silence as I considered it inappropriate to comment publicly while the inquiry remains ongoing and before I have provided my oral evidence.
"I am, however, aware of the calls from sub-postmasters and others to return my CBE.
"I have listened and I confirm that I return my CBE with immediate effect.
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"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 continue to focus on assisting the inquiry and will not make any further public comment until it has concluded."
Ever since the ITV drama dropped earlier this month, the public have been calling for action over the scandal.
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Hundreds of innocent people were accused of theft and fraud over a period of nearly 20 years.
The problem rested with a defective IT system called Horizon, which had been wrongly reporting financial discrepancies across Britain.
Out of all the postmasters and postmistresses affected, 736 were prosecuted, while others lost their homes, as well as thousands of pounds in savings and investments.
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Despite warnings that there were serious problems with the system, some were even imprisoned, while many were shunned by their local communities.
Topics: News
Lucy Devine