Hero of ‘Post Office Scandal’ Alan Bates, rejects OBE

THE British Post Office scandal is a grave miscarriage of justice in which more than 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted privately and publicly for theft, false accounting and fraud.

Many aspects of the scandal remain unresolved, and the devastating effect that it left on hundreds of lives remains. The cover up left workers in financial ruin, with destroyed relationships, even pushing some to try and take their own lives. The cases span a period of over twenty years, and the BBC called the convictions “the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice”. 

The scandal is once again a topic of conversation, not only in the UK, but in many other parts of the world too, due to the ITV Drama series ‘Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which aired its first episode on January 1 2024. 

The series, which viewers have branded ‘blood boiling’ on social media, recreates Alan Bate’s desperate and determined, decades long fight against the Post Office on behalf of all the subpostmasters and subpostmistresses who were wrongfully prosecuted, and in some cases, even sent to prison.

Although played by actor Toby Jones, the real Mr Bates is in fact warranting much attention of his own, as he has recently turned down the chance to become an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In an interview Alan Bates explained that “the first thing that sprang to my mind while reading the letter was that Paula Vennells still had a CBE. I felt so deeply insulted.”

Paula Vennells is the Former Post Office boss who became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2019. Many blame her for the whole scandal, however to this day she still retains this honour. Mr Bates continued, explaining that  “She presided over a policy of harassing hundreds of innocent people. It’s not just that the Government hasn’t asked her to return it. What’s even worse is that despite knowing the strength of feeling about it, how people have suffered and in some cases died on her watch,  she doesn’t feel inclined to give it back.”

Yesterday, January 2, Carol Vorderman took to her social media to praise the Post Office hero over his decision to turn down the OBE for this ‘noble reason’. The post, shared on the platform X, read: “Alan Bates turned down an OBE as Paula Vennells, the woman in charge of the Post Office through the Horizon Scandal, retains her CBE and refuses to give it back,” In addition to this, she also shared a picture of Alan, titles, “A man of honour.”

X, formerly Twitter, users were quick to respond in agreement. One replied with: “Yes, Alan Bates is a man of honour. Paula Vennells should be ashamed of herself.” With another stating that: “Exactly everything that’s wrong with the system. Many spoke of the scandal itself, adding that since watching Mr Bate’s struggle on the recent television series they are “sick to the stomach”. 

The ITV series continues, with many who are familiar with the story, alongside those who are not, watching in horror and disbelief. One thing is for certain, thanks to Alan Bates, the victims of this cover up and manipulation were never alone again. His tireless fight for justice has granted him something much deeper than any award, that is the honour and respect of his people.