Business magnate and founder of the Virgin Group Richard Branson has given one of the most famous victims of the postal scandal a free luxury holiday and the chance to stay on his private island.
Alan Bates, who played a crucial role in exposing the injustice, was apparently offered first-class tickets for himself and his partner to a destination of their choice.
The offer of a lifetime came after the 69-year-old told The Times he would be happy to receive a free holiday from the billionaire after being asked about his life after the ordeal.
“If Richard Branson is reading this, I would like to go on vacation,” he told the outlet.
And now it seems his dreams may be coming true, according to a statement from The Sun newspaper editor Kelvin MacKenzie.
Mckenzive, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, He said he had received confirmation from Branson’s spokespeople that the owner of Virgin Atlantic would offer the holiday.
“You will remember what Alan Bates said in the last line of his interview with the Sunday Times about his fight to get justice for the aggrieved postmasters,” Mckenzive wrote.
“I just heard from his people that Branson actually read it and has offered Mr. Bates and his partner of 30 years now upper-class round-trip tickets to a destination of their choice.”
He continued: “And he would be more than happy to host her on Necker Island, his beautiful private island in the Caribbean.”
Bates was one of thousands of mailroom managers caught up in the Horizon IT scandal, which involved a faulty computer system and left many employees accused of theft.
The Englishman, who ran a post office in Craig-y-Don, Llandudno, North Wales, between 1998 and 2003, was falsely accused of owing £1,000.
Bates told the Times that he refused to sign the erroneous accounts, which would have made him liable, but that doing so allowed him to avoid prosecution.
However, hundreds of other victims were not so lucky. Many were prosecuted and some even took their own lives.
Bates fought to ensure justice was done in the case. In 2018, he and five other victims took the post office to the Supreme Court as part of a class action lawsuit.
The judge ruled that Horizon contained “errors, errors and defects,” and the Post Office agreed to settle with all plaintiffs.
The scandal has been brought back into the spotlight with the release of a new ITV drama based on the events.
City AM has asked Virgin for comment.
