Post Office campaigner Alan Bates given knighthood – but insists there’s still ‘work to do’
Alan Bates, the campaigner who highlighted the Post Office scandal, will be given a knighthood after being recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
Other famous faces on the list include artist Tracey Emin and cyclist Mark Cavendish, who will be given a damehood and knighthood, respectively.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown has received the highest award possible, being made a Companion of Honour.
Singer Rebecca Ferguson, Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon, Countdown’s Susie Dent and Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden were among the showbiz names to be made MBEs.
Mr Bates founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance and told Sky News he is accepting the honour “not just for myself… but on behalf of the whole group”.
He described the accolade – given to him for services to justice – as “recognition of the sheer hell that they’ve been through over the years”.
“It’s not just for me, it’s for all of them,” he said.
Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongfully convicted of stealing from the Post Office because of a faulty accounting system called Horizon.
Read more: All the big names recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list
Mr Bates rejected the offer of an OBE last year because former Post Office boss Paula Vennells had been given a CBE in 2019.
The former CEO handed the award back in January and was later officially stripped of the title by the King amid the fallout from a TV drama on the scandal.
Mr Bates said it would have felt “wrong” to accept an OBE last year, adding it would have felt like “an insult” to other former sub-postmasters.
“We’re a lot further forward with everything now,” he added.
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Paula Vennells gave back her CBE in January. Pic: Reuters
Mr Bates said the knighthood was “a bit of a shock, a bit out of the blue” – and he initially thought “it was a bit of a wind up”.
He admitted he did “weigh up” whether to accept the honour, considering there’s still “work to do” and many victims have not received full and fair financial redress.
Mr Bates has encouraged other wronged former sub-postmasters to “stand firm” and not “sell yourself short” – vowing they will “go back to the courts” to fight for compensation if needed this autumn.
He also said that he believed Fujitsu, the company behind the faulty Horizon accounting system, is yet to contribute towards compensation.
“I think they’re going to have to cough up somewhere along the line,” he said.
“I very much see the government at the moment providing the redress for people, as a sort of middleman.
“I think there’s a lot of money to be recovered from elsewhere to repay the taxpayer in all of this.”
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‘We’ve got to get money out to the victims’
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Meanwhile, it is believed a team of around 80 Metropolitan Police officers are monitoring the Post Office inquiry closely.
Mr Bates insisted they “certainly should be looking at whether or not there are criminal prosecutions that should be brought, and not just for individuals, but corporate charges as well”.
He met with police officers last month just before Ms Vennells gave evidence at the Post Office inquiry – which was also the day he was offered the knighthood.
Police are still investigating Post Office, says Mr Bates
If police had said they were not investigating the matter, the former sub-postmasters would have fundraised privately to prosecute, he said.
“Unlike them – the Post Office prosecuting the sub-postmasters,” he said. “I think we’ve got to wait and actually see evidence first – before prosecutions.”
When asked whether or not he has confidence in the Post Office and its interim chairman Nigel Railton at the moment, Mr Bates replied: “I don’t know, but I mean if he decided to sell the business, I would heavily support him.”
Alan Bates during the Post Office inquiry. Pic: PA
Mr Bates reflected on how life has changed for him and his wife since the TV programme aired, describing himself as “the least likely celebrity you could find”.
“It’s always been about the job,” he said. “Getting the job done, it’s not been about me.
“I still like escaping up to the hills, when I can, by myself.”
Mr Bates’ wife Suzanne ‘very proud’
When Mr Bates receives the knighthood, his wife Suzanne will automatically become a Lady.
“She’s always been a lady to me,” he insisted. “It’s not going to change our lives at all. We’re just going to be Alan and Suzanne.”
Alan Bates and his wife Suzanne Sercombe in April. Pic: PA
Suzanne said she is “very proud” of her husband, who she said is “very, very deserving”.
In response to Mr Bates’ statement about Fujitsu failing to contribute compensation, the company said in a statement: “The Fujitsu Group has always regarded this matter with the utmost seriousness and offers its deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families.
“The UK statutory public inquiry is ongoing and we remain steadfast in our commitment to cooperate entirely.
“Based on the findings of the inquiry, we will also be working with the UK government on the appropriate actions, including contribution to compensation.
“The Fujitsu Group hopes for a swift resolution that ensures a just outcome for the victims.”
A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.
Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.
She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.
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Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
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The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.
In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”
Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.
A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
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Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
UK
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
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‘Fix care before assisted dying legislation’
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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