Where are Alan Bates and Paula Vennells now? The real people behind Mr Bates vs The Post Office

3 January 2024, 12:35 | Updated: 3 January 2024, 14:27

In the aftermath of the Horizon Post Office scandal, the subjects of the drama, Alan Bates and Paula Vennells have both moved on from working for the Post Office.

Where is Alan Bates now?

Alan Bates was a sub-postmaster from Wales who led the legal battle against the Post Office.

He has now retired but is still committed to getting justice for everybody who was affected by the scandal.

Mr Bates told Wales Online: "At 68, I would love to be able to take my foot off the pedal.

"But I will stay involved until everyone from the original group who is entitled to compensation receives the full financial redress they're eligible for.

"Once everyone's received their money, I'll feel I've done my bit."

His contract with the Post Office was terminated with three months' notice when he was accused of fraud and refused to take responsibility for financial discrepancies.

Mr Bates became an activist and his journey to justice, which is still ongoing, took tens of years and cost millions of pounds.

Mr Bates set up the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance (JSFA) in 2009.

In January 2023, Mr Bates rejected an offer of an OBE for services to justice.

He told the Honours Committee: "I do appreciate that there may well be people who believe that after the many years of my unpaid campaigning, which I led in order to expose the truth, I deserve some recognition for my work.

"But I hope you can understand why it would be so inappropriate for me to accept any award at present, while so many of the victims continue to suffer so badly and [Paula] Vennells still retains an honour and remains a 'role model' to the Honours Committee."

Paula Vennells was included in the 2019 New Year Honours list and was appointed a CBE for services to the Post Office and to Charity.

Mr Bates was celebrated at the 2023 Pride of Britain Awards and was named winner of the Special Recognition award.

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Read more: Inside the Horizon scandal: The true story behind new drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office

What happened to Paula Vennells?

Paula Vennells was CEO of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019.

In 2019, before the High Court ruling, she stepped down from her role to start a new position as chair of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Ms Vennells then stepped down as chair of the NHS trust in December 2020. She said the reason for stepping down from the position was a personal decision.

In a statement, she said: "By the time I leave, I will have been in the position for two years. While I will be very sad to go, it is a personal decision at the right time.

"I am so proud of what we achieve across our hospitals - from the fantastic care and treatment to the outstanding research and education."

After the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of 39 convicted former postmasters, Ms Vennells apologised.

She said: “I am truly sorry for the suffering caused to the 39 sub-postmasters as a result of their convictions which were overturned last week.”

She was ordained as a priest in 2006 and after her apology in 2021, she stepped back from working with regular parish ministry.

Inside The Horizon Scandal

Over 700 Post Office branch managers were given criminal convictions after the faulty Fujitsu accounting software, Horizon, made it look as if money was missing.

It has since been called the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history.

Introduced in 1999, the IT system Horizon was seen as a "better way" for managers to handle their branch accounts.

Sub-postmasters quickly realised unexplainable discrepancies in their records but the Post Office dismissed these concerns as no one else was experiencing such issues.

Soon, the Post Office accused the sub-postmasters of taking the missing finances for themselves and started criminal proceedings.

Between 1999 and 2015, over 700 people were wrongly prosecuted. Wrongly accused managers were imprisoned, and financially ruined.

Some people even took their own lives.

In 2019, six people, including Alan Bates, took the Post Office to the High Court in a Group Litigation Order.

A judge ruled that the IT system Horizon was at fault for the financial discrepancies.

A public inquiry into the Horizon scandal began in February 2022 and is still ongoing.

Did the victims receive justice?

In 2019 the High Court ruled that the software contained "bugs, eros and defects" with "material risk" which caused shortfalls in the Post Office branch accounts.

The Post Office was ordered to pay £58 million in compensation for the false prosecutions.

After legal costs, the 555 people represented by the Group Litigation Order were left with £12 million - around £20,000 each.

Currently, 93 convictions have been overturned and victims have been paid a total of £138 million in compensation.

Lawyers representing the victims say there is "more than enough evidence" for police to investigate senior staff members accused of covering it up.