Sell Post Office to Amazon for £1, wronged postmaster Alan Bates tells MPs

The former postmaster who led the campaign for justice for Horizon victims has told MPs that he can’t see an end to his compensation claim

Alan Bates, the subpostmaster who is the face of the Horizon victim’s campaign for justice, told MPs that the Post Office is a “dead duck” and should be sold off to Amazon.

Giving evidence to parliament’s business and trade select committee, Mr Bates 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 moneypit for the taxpayer in the years to come.

He added: “You should sell it to someone like Amazon for £1, get really good contracts for all the serving sub-postmasters and within a few years you’ll have one of the best networks around Britain.”

Mr Bates whose campaign was dramatised in the television series Mr Bates vs The Post Office, in which he was played by actor Toby Jones, added that he cannot see an “end” to his compensation claim.

Alan Bates has campaigned for justice for subpostmasters who were caught up in the Horizon IT scandal (PA Archive)

Mr Bates has led the charge for compensation following the Horizon IT scandal that saw more than 700 sub-postmasters handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 because of Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters are still awaiting compensation despite the Government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.

Asked by committee chairman Labour MP Liam Byrne, whether he had seen improvements in the process of paying out former sub-postmasters caught up in the Horizon scandal, Mr Bates said: “As far as I know my claim is still sat there”.

Questioned on whether he believed the Government had got a grip of the redress 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.”

Asked whether he believed the government had got compensation correct for those who had already received a settlement in the 2019 court case, Mr Bates said: “I don’t know what you can do other than remove the whole scheme from Government itself … and try and do it elsewhere.

“We keep coming back to this time after time after time – pay people.”

Carl Creswell, director of business resilience at the Department of Business and Trade, said ministers and senior civil servants wanted to pay out money faster.

Former Post Office chair Henry Staunton has been engaged in a public row with business secretary Kemi Badenoch (Lucy North/PA Wire)

It came after former Post Office chairman Henry Staunton claimed he had been told to delay payouts to subpostmasters affected by problems with the Horizon computer system.

It opened a row with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who accused him of spreading “made-up anecdotes”.

Mr Creswell said that his conversations with former department for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) permanent secretary Sarah Munby had not been about slowing down payouts.

“You would have thought someone would have mentioned it to me if that was the intent. Not at all,” he said.

“I worked very closely with Sarah Munby, she and I worked with Treasury to secure the funding needed for the schemes.”

He added: “Every conversation I had with her, with ministers, with other senior civil servants in other parts of Government, have all been about how we can pay out this money more quickly, so, no, that is completely incorrect, that assertion.”

Mr Staunton stepped down from the Post Office amid ongoing tensions last month.

The former WH Smith executive has since been involved in a deepening row with Ms Badenoch after he claimed he had been told to delay payouts to the subpostmasters affected.

Kemi Badenoch has denied allegations that the government told the Post Office to delay compensation payments (PA Wire)

Ms Badenoch tolds MPs he had spread “made-up anecdotes” following his dismissal.

However, ministers are under pressure over allegations a senior civil servant told Mr Staunton not to focus on “long-term issues” and to protect his organisation’s finances.

Mr Staunton is said to have been told during a meeting with Sarah Munby to “hobble” into the next general election, according to notes reported by The Times newspaper.

Ms Badenoch then referred to the dispute last Thursday, tweeting: “It’s important that people have trust in all we’re doing to get them justice.

“It’s frustrating dealing with false allegations that break that trust, but we won’t be distracted.

“The law is expected to come into effect by the end of July and apply to convictions in England & Wales.”