Post Office campaigner Alan Bates promises to crowdfund private prosecutions if justice is not done

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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politic ... 51234.html

Mr Bates said he was confident the money could be raised for private prosecutions.

Post office campaigner Alan Bates said he will lead a crowdfunding campaign to fund private prosecutions of Post Office bosses if justice is not done.

The former sub-postmaster told The Times he thought he could raise millions of pounds to “pursue private prosecutions” if the criminal investigation stalls.

He told the newspaper: “The nation is angry about this.

“In so many other scandals, the people who make decisions and ruin numerous lives walk away scot-free. We are not prepared to do that.”

Mr Bates spoke out after giving evidence earlier this week to the Horizon IT inquiry.

He told the hearing he believed the Post Office was “definitely trying to outspend us” as part of its “aggressive” tactics at the High Court.

He said the organisation “needs disbanding” and called it a “dead duck” that is “beyond saving”.

The Post Office has come under fire since the broadcast of ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which put the Horizon IT scandal under the spotlight.

More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Government-owned organisation and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.

Mr Bates had his contract terminated by the Post Office in 2003 after refusing to accept liability for shortfalls in the accounts at his branch in Llandudno, North Wales.

Speaking on Friday, the former chief executive of the Royal Mail Group Adam Crozier expressed “huge regret” over the “tragic situation” for subpostmasters and their families during his time at Royal Mail.