8 September 2024, 07:36 | Updated: 8 September 2024, 13:32
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Alamy
Post Office campaigner Alan Bates has married his partner on Richard Branson’s exclusive private in the Caribbean.
The 70-year-old Horizon campaigner wed his longterm partner Suzanne Sercombe, 69, on the entrepreneur’s private Necker Island, located in the British Virgin Islands, last month.
The couple have been together for 34 years but had never married – 20 of which Bates has spent campaigning for justice.
The wedding followed a pledge by the Virgin tycoon following Mr Bates’ campaign for justice on behalf of hundreds of subpostmasters across the UK who were wrongly convicted.
Mr Bates – now Sir Alan Bates following his Knighthood in June as part of the king’s birthday honours list – spearheaded the fightback by sub-postmasters in the wake of the Horizon IT scandal.
It followed Sir Alan, 70, saying in an interview in January: “If Richard Branson is reading this, I’d love a holiday.”
Picture:
Alamy
According to the Sunday Times, due to the surprise nature of the wedding, the new new Lady Bates wore a patterned sundress she had packed for the holiday for the main ceremony, rather than a traditional bridal gown.
The wedding was also officiated by the Virgin boss, according to reports.
Sir Richard told The Sunday Times: “It was an absolute joy to play a small part in Alan and Suzanne’s love story, and I know they will continue to spread the beautiful light they share with everyone around them.”
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The campaigner became a household name following a TV drama – Mr Bates Vs The Post Office – which shone a spotlight on one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history.
The show drew renewed public attention to the subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal.
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Alamy
More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Post Office and given criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015, as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Sir Alan’s wife in the ITV drama, said Suzanne is “the wind beneath his wings”.
The Post Office Inquiry will resume on September 23.