Delays in compensation payments to subpostmasters could be a deliberate "ploy" to encourage claimants to settle for lower figures, Sir Alan Bates has said, alongside stating that he would hand his knighthood back if it meant full and fair compensation for all those still fighting for the money they are owed.
Sir Alan Bates’ knighthood was recognised for his long campaign on behalf of sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted for theft and false accounting. While speaking to ITV recently on the matter of compensation to Post Office victims, Sir Bates raised some serious concerns regarding the delays.
"I think we’re getting to the point now where we may need to go back to the law to solve this… I’m hearing from people now who have been in this battle for 20 years that they’re taking 60 per cent of their [compensation] offer. They’re in their 80s, even their children are coming up to retirement age and they just can’t go on anymore.
"Is that a ploy, we’ve got to ask, is that a ploy by the government to string it out as long as possible just so people give up?"
"If it was a choice between the knighthood and the financial redress for all of the subpostmasters, I know which one I’d take," he added.
As of now, there are three separate compensation schemes; so far around £240 million has been paid out to more than 2,800 claimants. Many wrongfully convicted former sub postmasters have called out the delay in agreeing to a settlement.
