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Sources close to the deal confirmed the settlement to the BBC, though the exact sum has not been disclosed. Sir Alan has not responded to requests for comment.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted after the faulty Horizon IT system falsely indicated shortfalls in their branch accounts. Hundreds more used personal savings to plug the supposed deficits in an effort to avoid prosecution.

The consequences were devastating: marriages collapsed, livelihoods were destroyed, and families believe the stress contributed to serious illness, addiction and premature death.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: “We pay tribute to Sir Alan Bates for his long record of campaigning on behalf of victims. We can confirm that Sir Alan’s claim has reached the end of the scheme process and been settled.”

As of September 2025, a total of £1.23 billion had been awarded to more than 9,100 sub-postmasters.

Sir Alan first received an offer of redress in January 2024, which he rejected as “cruel and derisory”. A second offer followed in May that year, worth about a third of what he had sought. In May 2025, he said he had received a third offer for less than half of his original claim.

He was part of the Group Litigation Order compensation scheme, under which claimants could accept a fixed £75,000 payment or pursue an individual settlement.

Former sub-postmaster Tim Brentnall from Pembrokeshire, whose conviction for false accounting was overturned, said that Sir Alan’s “tenacity and dogged spirit” had sustained others over the past 20 years. “We all owe him a great debt,” he said.

Public awareness of the scandal surged last year with ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which dramatised Sir Alan’s campaign and helped drive renewed scrutiny of the Post Office’s actions.

Following the public inquiry, the government accepted all but one of its recommendations. The inquiry detailed the human toll of the affair, reporting that more than 13 people may have taken their own lives as a result.

Earlier this year, Sir Alan accused the government of presenting victims with a “take it or leave it” offer worth less than half his claim. Many victims had previously said they were pressured to accept low offers without legal support.

Last month, ministers confirmed that all victims seeking compensation will now be entitled to free legal advice.

Three separate compensation schemes exist, each covering different groups of victims depending on individual circumstances. However, the process has been widely criticised for its complexity and delay, with many of the most severely affected receiving far less than they claimed.

Sir Alan told the inquiry that his lawyers had included in his settlement claim compensation for his two decades of campaigning on behalf of other victims. “I’m trying to fight for everyone’s financial redress in this but I’ve also got to fight for my own as well,” he said.

He added that his lawyers had included the 20 years’ compensation without his knowledge.