Post Office campaigner receives honorary degree

Sir Alan Bates formed the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA) which met in Warwickshire

Campaigner Sir Alan Bates has received an honorary doctorate in recognition of his work to get justice for wrongfully convicted postmasters.

Sir Alan was awarded the honour by Coventry University for his efforts to clear the names of those accused of theft and fraud.

He founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA) and in 2017 brought a group action in the High Court with 500 others to expose failings with the Post Office’s Horizon accounting system.

The 69-year-old said he was accepting the honour "for the whole group".

Sir Alan received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws alongside other university students at a ceremony at Coventry Cathedral on Tuesday.

"When I accept an honour like this it's not just for myself, it's for the whole group and everything the whole group has been through," he said.

"It adds another string to our bow when we take our campaign forward."

The postmasters group campaigned for fair compensation from the government

"I hadn’t expected this and it was very much a surprise."

The origins of the JFSA are ingrained in Warwickshire with their first meeting famously taking place in Fenny Compton.

Following that initial meeting, the group has been meeting in Kineton, where they gathered again on Sunday.

Sir Alan said the group was now looking to hold a celebration in a year's time when he said "hopefully" all their financial matters would be resolved.

Talking after awarding Sir Alan with his degree, Professor John Latham, Vice-Chancellor of the university, said: "Sir Alan has spent the last 20 years fighting one of the biggest injustices seen in this country for some time.

"He epitomises the very essence of some of the qualities we try to instil in our students; dedication, determination and passion."