Alan Bates, a former sub-postmaster and campaigner for justice in the Horizon IT scandal, has accused the Post Office of attempting to discredit and silence him for 23 years. In his witness statement to the public inquiry, Bates claimed that the Post Office had lied about the accounting system and stated that it was pretty obvious the Post Office was after him. Bates had repeatedly raised concerns about the system after its installation in his post office branch in 2000 and was subsequently dismissed in 2003. Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted due to the faulty system, which showed errors that did not exist.
A presentation prepared by Dave Smith, a former Post Office manager, was shown during the inquiry, which said that Bates had discrepancies and had been dismissed for becoming unmanageable. Bates denied these allegations and stated that he had never struggled with accounting or received copious support. He and his staff made 507 calls to the Post Office helpline in over two years, with 85 of them being related to Horizon, but the helpline was not of much help.
Post Office Chief Executive, Nick Read, made a surprise appearance at the inquiry room and spoke to the BBC about his commitment to finding ways to speed up redress and ensure sub-postmasters get the justice they deserve. Bates has been campaigning for justice for sub-postmasters for decades, and the failure to address the issue caused hurt and suffering to victims and their families. The Post Office apologised for the past wrongs and said that it was working to ensure that incidents would not happen again.
The Horizon IT scandal is one of the largest miscarriages of justice in the UK, with hundreds of sub-postmasters falsely accused and prosecuted. Bates’s account demonstrates that the Post Office attempted to suppress criticism and failed to acknowledge the errors made. The inquiry hopes to create a comprehensive report on the Horizon case, which will provide recommendations and solutions for ensuring justice prevails in similar cases
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