Bates agrees settlement claim worth millions over Post Office scandal

Sir Alan Bates has agreed a multi-million-pound settlement with the government more than two decades after he began the campaign for justice for post office operators over the Horizon IT scandal.

- Mark Sweney

Bates has previously accused the government of presiding over a “quasi-kangaroo court” system for compensation, and last year said that post office operators may return to court over delays with settling claims.

The 70-year-old, who was knighted last year, was portrayed by the actor Toby Jones in the hit ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which thrust the plight of post office operators into the national spotlight. Bates revealed in May that he had been handed a “take it or leave it” compensation offer of 49.2% of his original claim.

Bates led the campaign over the scandal, which has been called Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice.