It started with a letter in 2003. Alan Bates, a former subpostmaster from Llandudno, didn't just "quit" his job. He was sacked because he refused to sign off on accounts that he knew were wrong. He knew the Horizon IT system was a disaster. The Post Office told him he was the only one. They lied.
For over twenty years, this man led a crusade against a state-owned behemoth. Most people only caught on when the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office aired in early 2024. But by then, lives had already been destroyed. We're talking about more than 900 wrongful convictions. Bankruptcies. Prison sentences for pregnant women. At least 13 suicides linked to the stress of being called a thief by your own employer.
Now, as we sit in early 2026, the dust is finally—sorta—settling. But the reality is much messier than a TV script.
The Reality of the Alan Bates Post Office Settlement
In November 2025, news broke that Sir Alan Bates finally settled his personal compensation claim with the government.
It wasn't easy.
Honestly, it was a bit of a slap in the face for a while. Earlier in 2025, he had been offered what he called a "derisory" amount—less than half of what he actually claimed. He famously called the government's compensation process a "quasi-kangaroo court."
The final numbers? While the exact figure is confidential, experts and insiders like Sky News' Mark Kleinman suggest the settlement was in the £4 million to £5 million range.
That sounds like a lot of money. It isn't, though, when you consider he spent 22 years of his life fighting a legal war that the Post Office tried to win by outspending the victims into submission.
Why the payout sparked a row
Some people were actually annoyed by the settlement figure.
Why? Because Alan Bates wasn't one of the postmasters who went to prison. He wasn't "convicted." He was "just" sacked and lost his business. Some victims who did go to jail and lost everything are still fighting for similar sums.
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But here’s the thing: without Bates, none of them get anything. He was the one who organized the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA). He was the one who found the 555 claimants for the 2017 High Court case.
What Happened with Horizon?
The Post Office Horizon system was supposed to be the "future" of retail accounting. Developed by Fujitsu, it was rolled out in 1999. Almost immediately, subpostmasters started seeing "shortfalls."
Money was disappearing from the digital ledgers.
The Post Office’s response wasn't to check the code. It was to send in the investigators. They forced subpostmasters to pay the "missing" money out of their own pockets. If they couldn't? They were prosecuted for theft and false accounting.
The Smoking Gun
During the public inquiry, which basically dominated the news in 2024 and 2025, we found out the Post Office and Fujitsu knew about the bugs.
They knew as early as 1999.
Internal memos showed they could remotely access branch accounts without the subpostmaster knowing. They used this power to "fix" things, then lied in court, claiming remote access was impossible.
The Toll Nobody Talks About
We focus on the money because that's what the government can actually give back. But you can't compensate for 20 years of being called a criminal in your own village.
- 13 suicides are now officially linked to the scandal.
- Over 900 convictions were based on faulty data.
- 60+ victims died before they ever saw a penny of compensation.
In May 2024, Parliament finally passed the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act to quash these convictions en masse. It was unprecedented. It had to be, because the justice system had failed so spectacularly that the usual appeals process would have taken a century.
Is the Alan Bates Post Office Saga Actually Over?
Not really.
As of January 2026, while Sir Alan has settled, there are still roughly 3,200 claims floating around in the system. The government has paid out over £1.2 billion so far, but the bureaucracy is slow.
Sir Alan himself hasn't exactly retired to a quiet life. He’s still vocal about the "slow-walking" of payments. He even turned down an offer to appear at Glastonbury because he was too busy with the inquiry.
Key Lessons for Business Owners
If there's any "actionable" takeaway from this nightmare, it’s about institutional hubris.
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- Trust your people over your software. If 500 managers tell you the computer is wrong, the computer is probably wrong.
- Disclosure is a legal obligation, not a suggestion. The Post Office hid evidence for decades. That’s what turned a "glitch" into a "scandal."
- The "Single Source of Truth" is a myth. Just because a dashboard says you’re missing £10,000 doesn't mean the money was stolen.
What You Can Do Now
If you want to support the ongoing effort for full redress, you should follow the updates from the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance. The public inquiry’s final reports are the next big milestone.
Check your own business's "protected disclosure" or whistleblowing policies. Most of the people who tried to stop this inside the Post Office were ignored or bullied. Don't let your organization become a "Post Office."
Read the transcripts of the Sir Wyn Williams Inquiry. They are a masterclass in how not to run a company. If you’re a victim or family member still seeking redress, the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme is the current primary route for those whose convictions were quashed by the 2024 Act.
Justice is finally happening, but it’s late. And for many, it’s far too little.