Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is facing pressure to hand back his knighthood following his involvement in the Horizon Post Office scandal.
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells agreed on Tuesday to hand back her CBE “with immediate effect” after public outrage.
Ms Vennells’ announcement was welcomed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with a Downing Street spokesman saying it was “obviously the right decision” to forfeit the honour.
Her decision has placed additional strain on Sir Ed, who served as Post Office minister at the time of the scandal, to follow suit.
Sir Ed was knighted in the 2016 New Year’s Honours List for “political and public service” after he served in David Cameron’s coalition Government where he was minister for postal affairs from 2010-2012.
A Liberal Democrat spokesman has rejected calls for him to hand back his knighthood.
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They said: “No he will not. As Ed has said many times, he wishes he’d known then what we all know now.
“It’s right that Vennells gave back her CBE, she was at the centre of a conspiracy of lies against the victims, the public and ministers of all parties.”
Reform UK leader Richard Tice said: “Vennells has belatedly done the right thing. The nation looks forward to Sir Ed Davey doing the right thing.”
While Conservative Cabinet minister Mel Stride added that Sir Ed had “questions to answer” about how he handled the situation.
The Horizon scandal, which saw over 700 sub-postmasters prosecuted due to faulty IT software, has been thrown into the spotlight following ITV’s drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
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