Why his story matters as template
Mass miscarriages of justice rarely correct themselves. They are corrected by sustained organisational effort over years, often decades. Alan Bates’s founding of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance in 2009 is the canonical recent UK example of how that organisational effort succeeds. The Post Office Horizon scandal was corrected because individual defendants organised collectively, engaged technical experts, filed litigation, engaged journalists, engaged parliamentarians, and sustained the effort for twenty years until public recognition caught up.
The Letby case, at this point, has most of the components of a Bates-template response in motion: independent technical experts (the Shoo Lee Panel), litigation (the October 2025 CCRC application), journalism (Phil Hammond, Rachel Aviv, Peter Hitchens), parliamentary engagement (Sir David Davis MP, Lord Sumption), and sustained organisational effort. What is missing, so far, is the public-recognition component. That is what this site and the wider campaign network are building.
Professional background
- Former sub-postmaster at Craig-y-Don Post Office in Llandudno, North Wales.
- In 2003 the Post Office began pursuing him for an alleged shortfall on his Horizon IT system; his postmaster contract was terminated in 2003.
- Founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance (JFSA) in 2009, bringing together sub-postmasters who had been similarly pursued.
- Lead claimant in the High Court litigation Bates & Others v Post Office (2017–2019). The 2019 High Court judgment found Horizon had been unreliable.
- Over the 2019–2024 period, hundreds of Horizon convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal. The 2024 statutory exoneration process followed the Mr Bates vs The Post Office ITV drama’s mass public recognition.
- Knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to sub-postmasters.
The Bates template in outline
- Organise. A single defendant acting alone has limited leverage. Defendants acting collectively have substantially more. JFSA was the organising vehicle.
- Engage technical experts. The Horizon case turned on forensic IT expertise. Defendants without independent technical experts cannot test the prosecution’s technical evidence.
- Litigate. Civil litigation, group actions, and individual appeals run in parallel. The 2019 High Court judgment was the legal turning point.
- Engage journalists. Sustained, resourced, specialist journalism (Nick Wallis, Private Eye) built the public record over years.
- Engage parliamentarians. Sir David Davis and other MPs raised the case in Parliament across multiple years before the public caught up.
- Sustain. The Post Office case took twenty years from initial prosecutions to mass exoneration. Sustained effort is the defining feature.
- Mass public recognition. Eventually — often triggered by a cultural event (the ITV drama, a documentary, a book) — public awareness crosses a threshold and statutory response follows.
Mapping the template onto Letby
- Organise. Mark McDonald KC and the legal team.
- Technical experts. Shoo Lee Panel, Joint Insulin Report, statistical critiques.
- Litigate. October 2025 CCRC application.
- Journalists. Phil Hammond, Rachel Aviv, Peter Hitchens.
- Parliamentarians. Sir David Davis MP, Lord Sumption.
- Sustain. The CCRC process alone is 2–4 years. Sustained effort is required.
- Mass public recognition. Still building. This site is part of that effort.