Alan Bates rejects new Post Office payout offer
THE campaigner who inspired ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office has rejected a second compensation offer.
Alan Bates had already turned down a “derisory” government offer over the Post Office Horizon scandal in January.
He says the latest offer amounted to around 30% of the sum he is seeking.
Mr Bates has mounted a 20-year battle with the Post Office, initiated by its decision to terminate his contract at his Llandudno branch in 2003, when he refused to accept blame for shortfalls on his account.
His campaign went on to expose the Horizon scandal, where more than 900 subpostmasters were wrongfully prosecuted after faulty software made it appear money was missing at their branches between 1999 and 2015. He said of the latest offer: “It’s frustrating for myself, for everyone.”
It came as the Post Office inquiry was told by its former finance director that the company maintained an “unacceptable relationship” with postmasters. Alisdair Cameron said it was “selfserving” and based on an imbalance of power. Mr Bates leads the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, campaigning for financial redress for hundreds of victims who took part in the group legal action. The claimants were awarded £58million in a settlement from the Post Office but compensation was swallowed up by huge legal costs, meaning they got an average of around £20,000 each.
The Government set up a compensation fund but progress has been slow.
Mr Bates says he will have to “look at other ways to progress the redress” if the Department of Business and Trade does not sort things out.
The campaigner said some 300 of the bigger and most complex cases have yet to be settled. He added: “It’s just not working quickly enough. People have lost 20 years of their lives and they’re still hanging on. We’ve also lost 70 odd people along the way.” A Department for Business and Trade spokesman said: “We have paid out £202million to postmasters.”