FURIOUS East Lancashire MP Greg Pope today vowed to press the Government into giving wrongly-convicted Peter Fell a proper compensation deal.

The Hyndburn Labour back bencher has tabled a written Parliamentary question to Home Secretary Charles Clarke on the issue, prompted by a Lancashire Evening Telegraph article.

In Tuesday's story we revealed that former Great Harwood man Mr Fell is still waiting for compensation, after being released from jail in 2001 after judges overturned an 18-year-old conviction for a double murder.

Mr Fell was convicted of killing two women in Aldershot.

Mr Pope is now asking Mr Fell's new MP, Essex Tory Gregory Barker, and Aldershot Conservative Gerald Haworth to join him in taking up the issue.

Mr Pope is furious that Mr Fell has yet to receive full compensation from the government and that the Hampshire Constabulary is refusing to re-open the investigation.

He is also concerned that the Home Office is seeking to recoup thousands of pounds from Mr Fell for the food and accommodation it paid for while he was wrongfully imprisoned.

This week Mr Pope tabled a written Parliamentary Question to Mr Clarke which asked: "Is it still government policy to recoup the cost of bed and board incurred during the imprisonment from the compensation monies paid to people wrongly imprisoned due to miscarriages of justice?"

Mr Pope said: "Peter hasn't received compensation yet from the Home Office despite being released more than four years ago.

"This needs to be taken up by his current MP Gregory Barker.

"I have written to him and Aldershot MP Gerald Haworth, in whose constituencies the murders took place to see if they will urge the police to re-open the inquiry or even better for another force to re-open it.

"There is still the possibility that the Home Office may try to recoup thousands of pounds off Peter to pay for the food he ate while wrongfully imprisoned. You couldn't make it up, could you?

"I wrote to Home Office ministers about this last year but there was little they could tell me because I am no longer Peter's MP.