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Alan Bates, a prominent Post Office campaigner, has reached a multimillion-pound compensation agreement with the Post Office, according to sources familiar with the situation as reported by the BBC. The settlement marks the culmination of Sir Alan’s more than two-decade-long fight for justice for victims of the Horizon scandal, which triggered legal action by a group of 555 sub-postmasters against the Post Office.
The specific amount of compensation paid to Sir Alan has not been disclosed, and he has not commented on the matter despite requests. From 1999 to 2015, over 900 sub-postmasters faced wrongful prosecution due to inaccuracies in the Horizon IT system, causing discrepancies in Post Office branch accounts. In response, many sub-postmasters invested their personal savings into their branches to cover apparent shortfalls and avoid legal repercussions.
Acknowledging Sir Alan Bates’ extensive advocacy on behalf of victims, a Department for Business and Trade spokesperson mentioned that his claim had been settled following the completion of the process. By September 2025, a total of £1.23 billion had been allocated to over 9,100 sub-postmasters as part of the resolution process. Sir Alan had initially rejected an offer of redress in January 2024, considering it “cruel and derisory,” but eventually engaged in negotiations leading to the recent settlement.
Following the widespread attention garnered by the Post Office/Horizon scandal, particularly through the portrayal of Sir Alan’s campaign in the ITV series “Mr Bates vs the Post Office,” the government partially accepted recommendations from an inquiry report. The investigation highlighted the profound human toll of the scandal, linking it to potential suicides and severe health consequences among affected individuals. While Sir Alan criticized the government for presenting a compensation offer amounting to less than half of his claim earlier this year, recent announcements have promised free legal assistance for all victims seeking compensation and highlighted ongoing criticism of the compensation schemes’ pace and complexity
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