Alan Bates says he WILL REJECT compensation for the Horizon IT scandal for the second time after the government offered just under a THIRD of what it asked for

Alan Bates has said he will reject compensation for the second time following the Horizon IT scandal, with the government offering just under a third of what it asked for.

The poster boy for the postal scandal has revealed his “continuing and difficult fight” for justice after being offered just 30 per cent of what he feels he is owed.

This will be the second offer Mr Bates has rejected, the first offer in January was around 16 per cent and he called it “cruel, offensive and paltry”.

Today, he calls the process “secret,” after more than 20 years of campaigning against the Post Office that continues to drag on.

Alan Bates has said he will reject compensation for the second time following the Horizon IT scandal, with the Government offering just under a third of what it asked for.

The poster boy for the postal scandal has revealed his “continuing and difficult fight” for justice after being offered just 30 per cent of what he asked for.

This will be the second offer rejected by Mr Bates, the first offer in January was around 16 per cent and he described it as “cruel, offensive and derisory”.

Mr Bates was fired from his Llandudno branch in 2003, when he refused to accept responsibility for breaches on his account.

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After years of campaigning against the decision, he would discover that he was just one of around 900 subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted over software problems.

“I mean, we obviously disputed the original claim and now it’s come back and is coming back. It seems to be an ongoing and uphill battle, not just for me, but for other deputy postmasters as well,” he told the Telegraph.

Mr Bates added: ‘The whole thing seems to be shrouded in secrecy and not transparency, as you hoped.’

Christopher Head, a former UK postmaster, spoke to MailOnline and said the process makes the Post Office appear “vindictive” towards Mr Bates and “punishing” others.

“It seems like a vindictive approach, in my opinion, Alan obviously led this from the start. Obviously the scandal would not have been where it is, and we would not have broken out so widely without all the work that Alan has accomplished over the years.

“I think (this) is almost like a punishment for him holding them to account, exposing all of this.”

Earlier this year, ITV bosses announced that the first episode of Mr Bates v. the Post Office had been watched by 9.2 million viewers.

The Post Office has been under fire since the broadcast of the ITV television series Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which brought the Horizon scandal into the spotlight.

He added that it should have been over “a long time ago”, and he fears the reason it’s dragging on is because the Post Office has yet to show it’s “in control”.

“Are they using this approach to sort of punish us for this? To say, well, you kind of embarrassed us. Now we’re going to show you know we’re still in control of this whole process.

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The claimants were awarded £58 million in a settlement from the Post Office. However, once legal costs were deducted, they received just £12 million, or around £20,000 each on average.

The inquest heard that Mr Bates first raised issues with the Horizon system in 2000 and that one day in December of that year he called the Horizon helpline seven times. the Post Office, including a call lasting about an hour.

Giving evidence to Post Office chief executive Nick Read in April, Mr Bates said it was an “atrocious organisation” which was “beyond repair” and should be “disbanded”.

More than 700 Postal Service employees were falsely prosecuted based on faulty data from the company’s Horizon computer system, developed by Fujitsu.

Some of these people were sent to prison after being convicted of false accounting and theft, others saw their finances in tatters, and still others will never get justice because they have since died.

This is the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.

Paula Vennells lost her CBE for ‘bringing the honors system into disrepute’ over mismanagement of the Horizon crisis

Former Deputy Postmaster General Alan Bates, pictured right, with his wife Suzanne Sercombe outside Aldwich House in London, said he was considering launching a private prosecution against the Post Office.

Earlier this year, ITV bosses announced that the first episode of Mr Bates v the Post Office was watched by 9.2 million viewers, with the four episodes being the most watched programs on any channel until present this year. The series, including the documentary, reached 14.8 million.

The government set up a compensation scheme for these postmasters called the Group Litigation Order (GLO), which was opened last year to ensure claimants received additional sums to reflect the seriousness of their situation.

Applicants to this scheme can also choose to settle their claims in full and finally for a total fixed amount of £75,000 including interest, instead of lodging a claim for their individual losses.

Next week, former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells will give evidence to the inquiry.

Asked what he wanted to hear from her, Mr Bates replied: “Actually, I would like to hear the truth.”