Sir Alan Bates reveals he STILL hasn't received any compensation from the Post Office despite inquiry into the Horizon scandal and being knighted for his heroic efforts for other victims
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Sir Alan Bates has revealed he still hasn't received any compensation from the Post Office, despite an inquiry into the Horizon scandal and being knighted. More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts.
![[Sir Alan tirelessly campaigned on behalf of hundreds of postmasters who were wrongly convicted of fraud while the Post Office covered up the real culprit - its new IT system]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/22/13/86139277-0-Sir_Alan_tirelessly_campaigned_on_behalf_of_hundreds_of_postmast-a-4_1734874051640.jpg)
Hundreds are still awaiting compensation despite the previous government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts. The Post Office has paid about £438 million to 3,100 claimants. In August, it emerged that lawyers representing the Post Office during the scandal had earned almost as much as the compensation paid to wronged sub-postmasters.
![[Sir Alan's status was further enhanced this year when depicted by Toby Jones in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which was watched by millions]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/22/13/90088775-0-Sir_Alan_s_status_was_further_enhanced_this_year_when_depicted_b-a-2_1734874041637.jpg)
But Sir Alan, and many others, are still waiting for theirs. He has turned down two offers of financial redress - one in January, when he was offered about a sixth of the amount he claimed for, and another in May for a third of the total amount he claimed for. He labelled the offers 'offensive and cruel'.
![[Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates married his partner Suzanne Sercombe on Sir Richard Branson's private island in the Caribbean]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/22/13/89414543-0-Post_Office_campaigner_Sir_Alan_Bates_has_married_his_partner_Su-a-5_1734874076056.jpg)
Speaking to The Times, he called the scheme 'a shambles' and said the amounts families are being offered were 'madness'. Since the drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office came out, he can no longer go anywhere without being 'stopped on the street', he said, insisting: 'It's not about me, all of this.'.
![[Richard Branson officiated the wedding of Alan Bates and Suzanne Sercombe (pictured together) on Necker Island]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/22/13/89431077-0-Richard_Branson_officiated_the_wedding_of_Alan_Bates_and_Suzanne-a-6_1734874079871.jpg)
