Now it's Sir Alan Bates versus the Post Office

POST OFFICE hero Alan Bates has been knighted for his 20-year fight for justice in the Horizon software scandal.

- Emily Ferguson

The campaigner led a crusade against bosses on behalf of hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly accused of mishandling money at branches.

The accounting software scandal became a national talking point after TV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

Now King Charles has moved to recognise the true British hero in his annual Birthday Honours.

Sir Alan, the title character of the fourpart ITV series played by Toby Jones, said he heard the news while watching Ms Vennells squirm under questioning at the Horizon IT inquiry last month.

The former sub-postmaster said his knighthood was a surprise, but was honoured to be recognised for his "hard slog over many years".

Sir Alan had initially refused to accept an OBE while former Post Office boss Paula Vennells held a CBE, given to her in 2019.

But in January, she bowed to mounting public pressure, including a petition signed by more than a million people, and handed the gong back.