Alan Bates, the former sub-postmaster who played a key role in exposing the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, is the focus of a new four-part mini-series on ITV. Mr. Bates, who was instrumental in leading a campaign that overturned dozens of convictions, is played by award-winning actor Toby Jones in the drama. While Mr. Bates is somewhat uncomfortable with the attention, he hopes the drama will focus more attention on the ongoing struggle to secure compensation for those still waiting.
The drama, Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office: The Real Story, follows the legal battle that exposed one of the most significant miscarriages of justice in the UK’s history. Between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were prosecuted based on information from Horizon, a Post Office computer system. Many were convicted of false accounting and theft, went to prison, were financially ruined, and some even died.
Mr. Bates’ Post Office contract was terminated in 2003 after he refused to accept liability for losses in his branch account in Llandudno. He and his wife lost the £65,000 they had invested in the business. He always believed the shortfalls were down to issues with Horizon, but it took many years to prove it. The new mini-series encapsulates a 20-year struggle in four hours of TV.
For the writer of the series, Gwyneth Hughes, Mr. Bates was the obvious character to focus on in telling this story. She describes him as the head of the campaign, with Jo Hamilton, another key figure in the scandal, as “the heart.” Ms. Hamilton is played by actress Monica Dolan. The real Ms. Hamilton says seeing her story brought to life on screen is “like a dream,” and hopes the mini-series will increase the pressure on the government to pay full compensation to those still suffering the fallout from the scandal.
After more than 20 years of coverage in news programs and documentaries, Ms. Hamilton and her fellow campaigners believe this drama may reach even more people, raising awareness of the true scale of what occurred. However, the fight is not over, with ongoing questions, a public inquiry, and the battle for compensation continuing. For Mr. Bates, the need to stand with the victims of the scandal is what drives him to see this through to completion
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