EDM: Award Alan Bates the Freedom of Liverpool
This month I have tabled a motion in support of the Freedom of the City of Liverpool being bestowed on Liverpool-born Post Office Horizon campaigner Alan Bates. This is the highest civil award in the city and has previously been awarded to those who have left an indelible mark on the people of Liverpool, including the 97 Hillsborough victims.
The motion asks Parliament to recognise that resilient and determined campaigning against injustice lies in the heart and DNA of Liverpool's daughters and sons and recognises the need for a duty of candour and a Hillsborough Law now to prevent further miscarriages of justice.
Alan Bates played a vital role in bringing the Post Office Horizon scandal to light - in 2009, he joined forces with other sub-postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal and went on to found the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance, and almost a decade later he five others took the Post Office to the High Court, representing more than 500 sub-postmasters, and the Horizon computer system was ruled at fault.