Post Office campaigner Alan Bates has agreed a multi-million-pound compensation figure from the British Post Office, sources close to the deal confirmed yesterday.
The payout comes more than 20 years after he started campaigning for justice for victims of the Horizon scandal which led a group of 555 sub-postmasters launching landmark legal action against the Post Office, according to BBC News.
The exact sum paid has not been made public and Bates has not responded to requests for comment.
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted after the faulty Horizon IT system indicated shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts.
Hundreds more poured their own savings into their branch to make up apparent shortfalls in order to avoid prosecution.
Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: “We pay tribute to Sir Alan Bates for his long record of campaigning on behalf of victims.
“We can confirm that Sir Alan’s claim has reached the end of the scheme process and been settled.”
As of September 2025, a total of £1.23 billion ($1.6bn) had been awarded to more than 9,100 sub-postmasters.
Bates first received an offer of redress in January 2024, which he rejected, describing it as ‘cruel and derisory’. He was made another offer in May 2024 which he said was around a third of what he had requested. In May of this year, he said that he’d received a third offer for less than 50 per cent of his original claim.
Bates was part of the Group Litigation Order compensation scheme, under which claimants can either receive £75,000 (about $97,655) or seek their own settlement.
The scandal reached new heights in the public consciousness last year after Bates’ campaign for justice was portrayed in the ITV drama series Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
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