Alan Bates, the wrongfully convicted subpostmaster who has since campaigned on behalf of fellow victims, has threatened to take legal action over the delays in compensation.

Speaking after being knighted at Windsor Castle, Bates told Sky News that he is considering fundraising in order to initiate legal action: ‘I know we’ve got the support of the nation behind us, if we need to fundraise for a court case we will.’

He was presented with the award by Princess Anne for services to justice. He said: ‘They (financial redress schemes) can’t be allowed to drag on for years again… There’s no reason it’s just the bureaucracy driving them into the ground again.’

He added that he hadn’t had any contact with the new Labour government since they took power, and said that for the group of impacted subpostmasters, March 2025 was their deadline for redress.

Former Post Office boss, Paula Vennells, was stripped of her CBE earlier this year following public pressure after the airing of an ITV drama, Mr Bates v The Post Office.

A government spokesperson said: ‘Ministers continue to meet with those affected by the Horizon scandal and it is as a priority to work with them to get swift and fair redress paid. Since July we have taken swift action to launch the new Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme and announced a new appeals process in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme in order to speed up payments further.

‘Although we support targets that show how quickly offers are made after claims are submitted, we are concerned that setting a target for the GLO scheme would put pressure on vulnerable postmasters who may need more time to finalise their claim with their lawyers.’

They added that ‘almost £290m has been paid to over 2,800 claimants across four compensation schemes, but we know there is more to be done, and we are committed to ensuring every postmaster receives full and fair redress as quickly as possible.’