If the government is unable to pay the Post Office scandal victims ‘ financial restitution by March of next year, it should appoint an independent organization to handle the task, or face legal action, according to Sir Alan Bates ‘ statement to prime minister Keir Starmer.
Bates stated in a circular to members of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance ( JFSA ) that he had written to Starmer to request that he designate a company that would either designate a capable organization to handle the task or appoint a branch that would accomplish this.
Bates added that discussions with law firms are planned and possible to receive financial support from the general public, and that court proceedings are an option for JFSA members.
Bates wrote to the Prime Minister on October 2nd, requesting that he instruct the department of business and trade ( DBT ) to finish all GLO claims by March 2025. If the DBT were unable to carry out the work in accordance with that deadline, an external person or company should be hired to finish the job.
He added that he and the JFSA could pursue legal action if they desired, and that their ability to raise the needed funds was unquestionable.
” We need that guarantee, no excuses, then, as I have often alluded to, we will have to go back to the courts, and I will be meeting with new law firms to discuss ways we can move the issue back to the courts”, said Bates. The difference is that we now have the backing of the country in our favor and have no doubts that we will be ready to crowdfund whatever funding we will need when the time comes.
Bates has also written to Liam Byrne MP, chair of the business department find committee, to ask for support for the March 2025 deadline.
Much wait continues
Is a deadline to much to ask for? Eight prime ministers and six standard elections have taken place in the UK since Bates began having issues with his North Wales Post Office branch in 2003. The previous one was in August 2024.
The JFSA has done a significant public service by exposing the scandal. Its members filed a High Court case against the Post Office, which resulted in verdicts for the JFSA in 2018 and 2019.
In those trials, it was established that subpostmasters were to blame for the problems caused by the Horizon computer system used in thousands of branches. Starmer is the second prime minister in the space of that time and place. Subpostmasters are still waiting, and the government has spent billions on the Covid-19 epidemic response, much of which was a waste.
The JFSA has dragged the government kicking and screaming throughout the course of the fight for justice, and it has played a key role in the Post Office scandal, which is probably the biggest criminal misstep in American history. The JFSA was the one who led to the legal open inquiry, which has been ongoing for more than two years. It was the JFSA that established miscarriages of justice.
But it’s just since ITV’s dramatisation of the scandal, in January this year, that the government has acted with vigour. Despite campaigners calling for it for more than a decade, it was possible to legislate to overturn unlawful convictions in just a few weeks of the drama. This was striking evidence that the government can act immediately under the influence of the public, but the government’s decision to pursue final monetary redress for JFSA members seems to be too much.
The Post Office scandal, which was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealed the accounts of seven subpostmasters and the issues they encountered as a result of Horizon accounting software, which caused the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history ( see below list of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal since 2009 ).
• Even read:  , What you need to know about the Horizon scandal , •
• Even watch:  , ITV’s documentary – , Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The true story , •
• Even read:  , Post Office and Fujitsu malevolence and incompetence means big taxpayers ‘ bill , •
