He became a household name after ITV turned Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice into a drama. He reflects on his fight for compensation, turning down an OBE – and getting married on Richard Branson’s island
Sir Alan Bates is at home in Llandudno with his wife Suzanne. Or, as he puts it, Lady Suzanne. You might know him better as Mr Bates from the Post Office scandal. He is the man who refused to give up when the Post Office told thousands of subpostmasters that they were inept or corrupt rather than acknowledging they were victims of flawed Horizon computer technology and managerial mendacity. It resulted in the biggest miscarriage of justice Britain has known – more than 900 people convicted of theft or false accounting, 236 jailed, numerous family breakdowns and at least four suicides.
For 20 years, few of us knew about the scandal. But gradually his campaign built up steam, thanks largely to his tireless work. In January, ITV turned it into a gripping docudrama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office. He was played by Toby Jones, and overnight the 69-year-old campaigner was a household name and we all knew about the scandal.
