British actor Toby Jones has expressed his honor in portraying Alan Bates in the ITV drama series about the Post Office Horizon scandal. Jones, 57, played the role of Bates, a former subpostmaster who has been at the forefront of a campaign for justice for hundreds of subpostmasters and subpostmistresses wrongfully accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting due to a flawed IT system. These accusations, leading to criminal convictions, spanned from 1999 to 2015.
The drama, titled Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, premiered earlier this year and cast renewed light on what is considered the largest miscarriage of justice in British legal history. During his appearance at the Hay Festival, Jones reflected on his role, describing Bates as a "hero" characterized by his unwavering sense of duty and resistance to external pressures.
Jones noted that despite the unfashionable nature of such values today, Bates’ relentless pursuit of justice was significant, pushing the miscarriage of justice into the spotlight. The actor emphasized the emotional impact of the series, particularly during a screening that left many subpostmasters and attendees in tears within the first ten minutes.
This emotional reception underscored the drama's success in capturing the gravity of the situation faced by the subpostmasters. The subpostmasters, despite living under immense strain for two decades, displayed "extraordinary dignity" and "humility," according to Jones.
In May, former Post Office boss Paula Vennells broke her near-decade-long silence on the scandal during a three-day inquiry, adding another layer of public scrutiny to the issue.