Live: Post Office campaigner Alan Bates gives evidence at Horizon inquiry

Watch live as campaigner Alan Bates testifies before the Post Office Horizon IT scandal inquiry.
Alan Bates was the subject of an ITV drama earlier in 2024 surrounding the plight of postmasters caught up in the scandal.
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[@christinecaldwell4514]

What an impressive individual this man is. Calm, precise, courageous, thorough and completely unflappable. He should stand for election, he’d romp home and be a great advocate for his constituents.

[@user-vh5up7lq6u]

What a change an honest man answering questions at the inquiry,where as post office witnesses all turned up with corporate memory loss who were paid bonuses to appear at the inquiry these postmasters deserve quick and generous compensation

[@davidkidd3975]

Should be some of those lawyers going to see what the inside of a prison looks like

[@AlexMorrison-te2cd]

They are trying they're hardest to not pay out anyone for this farce

[@hughcrawford1978]

This has not been handled right in the first place. The world is looking on to see if the British system can handle this properly this time.

[@jogregg6442]

This is absolutely horrifying. Shame on everyone Vennells, the Federation, the MPs, and everyone else. imho, Vennells and others should be jailed.

[@renszatrapp9639]

This is going to be my binge watch for the next few weeks.Jason Beer is wonderful.

[@michaelellard4664]

The PO must regret taking on Mr Bates. I believe that the Government, PO, Horizon must regret what coming out now.

[@hughcrawford1978]

This situation suggests many things. 1. The Post Office name was more important than the Subpostmasters, who could be used as scapegoats for the improperly tested software. 2. Was this a sinister way of closing down postoffices, to keep up with modernism. To allow a new direction forced on it by societies use of the internet. 3. Is the way this was handled, where Subpostmasters appear to have been persecuted and treated like second or third rate citizens, a reflection on the embedded class structure or something more wrong with the structure of society.

[@MISSMOB]

I agree. I believe the malevolence and corruption behind various government programs and agencies will likely be exposed in the future, similar to the issues highlighted in point 3. This includes: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) applications, Adult Social Services Care Plans Charges (as revealed by a Capita whistleblower in 2017) and the ongoing HMRC Loan Charge Scandal, which has contributed to avoidable suicides as individuals were targeted while the rogue 'agencies' that profited remained unscathed. This list is not exhaustive, as I also believe Companies House also has much to answer for with the ease that bad actors have been able to operate on there, to steal public money. Graham Barrow, through his Dark Money Files blog, is making remarkable progress in uncovering these issues. When the current government claims to "not have enough money," or when the Labour party fails to provide strong and progressive options to generate more income for our economy, they could begin by targeting those who financially benefit from perpetuating the embedded class structure, whether it is veiled or explicit.

[@davidkidd3975]

Stop get all the documents, why is this still being dragged along not good enough

[@garyfrancis6193]

Such a stultifying way of speaking.