Post Office hero Alan Bates calls on ministers to 'get on and pay' victims
Post Office hero Alan Bates has pleaded with the Government to "get on and pay" victims of the Horizon scandal.
Hundreds of postmasters are still waiting for compensation despite the promises of ministers, and lawyers warned some could still face waits of up to two years. MPs heard the final bill for taxpayers likely to top £1billion - with no deal yet in place over how much software firm Fujitsu will pay.
Mr Bates, who has been leading the campaign for justice for two decades, told MPs: "There's a lot of distractions, a lot of other things brought up, thrown up all the time - but just get on and pay people." He revealed that had considered getting all the former subpostmasters involved in the initial High Court case to "stand as MPs when the next election comes", adding: "Then we'll sort it out once and for all."
Questioned on whether he believed the Government had got a grip of the process, Mr Bates said: "No, I'm afraid not - it's very disappointing. This has been going on for years, as you well know, and I can't see any end to it."
The Post Office said 1,000 more claims have been received since ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office was screened in January. Mr Bates, who was played by Toby Jones in the series, told the cross-party Commons Business Committee that the Post Office should be sold.
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He said: "My personal view about Post Office is it's a dead duck and it has been for years, and it's going to be a money pit for the taxpayer in the years to come. You should sell it to someone like Amazon for £1, get really good contracts for all the serving subpostmasters and within a few years you'll have one of the best networks around Britain."
Mr Bates last month said he’d rejected an “offensive” and “cruel” compensation offer from the Government. He said the sum offered was only “around a sixth” of what he requested.
Former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton, who has been locked in a bitter war of words with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, doubled down on his claim he was told to slow down payments. Ms Badenoch has accused him of lying, but he told the committee he'd been made a "scapegoat".
Mr Staunton, who was addressing the committee under oath, said he denied making "politically incorrect" remarks. He claimed an investigation was ongoing into his conduct before he was sacked last month. But he said allegations had come to light during a probe into chief executive Nick Read. Mr Staunton also claimed that Mr Read had told him he planned to resign because he wasn't being paid enough - but former Business Secretary Grant Shapps refused to give him a raise.
In March last year it emerged Mr Read's salary was £415,000, and he was given a £455,000 bonus the following year, some of which he later returned. Labour MP Ian Lavery branded the organisation "rotten to the core" because of huge gaps between the low salaries of postmasters and that of top bosses. He told bosses including Mr Read: "Your bonuses on top of the hundreds of thousands of pounds in wages was 20 times more than their annual salary. Does this not really show how the Post Office is rotten to the core?"
Mr Read responded: "I'm not going to answer that question, clearly I'm clearly well paid and I'm clearly in a position where I'm trying to make sure that the commercial sustainability of the Post Office is going to be there for the next generation as well ."
The Horizon IT system ruined the lives of hundreds of Post Office workers when it mistakenly made it look like money was missing from their branches. Postmasters were wrongly blamed for the shortfalls and made to cover the losses, with more than 900 convicted including some who were put in prison. Former sub-postmaster Tony Downey told MPs he'd left the UK after being declared bankrupt because the Post Office had pursued him for over £20,000. He said: "We were forced to sell the business, declared bankrupt. I had a nervous breakdown. We left the village to run away."
MPs were told that taxpayers are likely to foot the bill for up to £1.2billion in compensation payments. Although Fujitsu has indicated it's willing to give redress to postmasters, so sums have been agreed, the committee heard. So far around £160million has been paid in compensation to 2,700 people through three different schemes, which works out at an average of £59,000 per claimant. Mr Read admitted that some victims may have accepted less than they are entitled to.
"We're very keen and we've had a discussion with Government about an appeals process," he said.
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