Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates has married his partner Suzanne Sercombe on Sir Richard Branson‘s private island in the Caribbean.
Touching photographs showed the couple, both wearing brightly coloured clothing, tying the knot as Virgin tycoon officiated on Necker Island, the British Virgin Islands, on August 27.
Sir Richard invited the couple to the island after Sir Alan, 70, said in an interview in January: ‘If Richard Branson is reading this, I’d love a holiday.’
He said he couldn’t think of ‘anyone more deserving of a break’, and quipped that millions of people had sent their congratulations, but ‘there was an issue at the Post Office!’Â
The wedding came as a surprise to the new Lady Bates, 69, who had to wear a patterned sundress she had packed for the holiday, the newspaper reported.
Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates has married his partner Suzanne Sercombe on Sir Richard Branson ‘s private island in the Caribbean
Richard Branson officiated the wedding of Alan Bates and Suzanne Sercombe (pictured together) on Necker Island
Sir Alan kept the wedding a surprise for his partner, and joked that King Charles III had forced him into it by awarding him with a knighthood
Alan Bates and Suzanne Sercombe kissing during their weddingÂ
Sir Alan, 70, joked the wedding was the fault of King Charles III, who awarded him with a knighthood in June, because since the ceremony no-one had known how to address his now-wife.Â
He told the Times: ‘Personally, I blame the King. It’s been 34 years and we’ve managed to never do it but he really dropped me in it.’
His wife will now be addressed as Lady Bates.Â
As he officiated, Sir Richard said: ‘What you have accomplished together is no small feat and I’m sure beyond what you ever thought was possible. Your journey began the moment you first met.Â
‘You took the time to learn what makes the other person smile, what makes them laugh and how to best support each other when life is less than simple. And thanks to your commitment to others, it’s certainly been less than simple.
‘Marriage can bring difficult days, just as they bring beautiful ones. Today is a reminder of what your love has already accomplished, and the amazing possibilities of what it can continue to accomplish in the many, many years ahead of you.’
He added: ‘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.’
After hatching his plot, Lady Bates found out the true extent of their trip on Necker Island, where they stayed for a week before heading to Antigua to celebrate.
Campaigner Sir Alan shot to fame after a TV drama shone a spotlight on how he was forced to lead a campaign on behalf of subpostmasters following one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history.
He was played by Toby Jones in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.
The show drew renewed public attention to the subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal.
Sir Alan (pictured with Suzanne) founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, and led a group of 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the High Court
The happy couple had been together for years before finally getting married last month
In a ITV drama Sir Alan was played by Toby Jones in a series on the scandal that touched the hearts of the nation
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.
Many were sent to prison and felt compelled to plead guilty in a bid to avoid jail.Â
Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Sir Alan’s wife in the ITV drama, said Suzanne is ‘the wind beneath his wings’.
Sir Alan founded the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, and led a group of 555 subpostmasters who took the Post Office to the High Court.Â
An enquiry into the scandal is ongoing with campaigners calling for better compensation packages for those affected, many of whom had their lives destroyed after the wrongful convictions.
In May, Bates said he would reject compensation over the scandal for the second time after the Government offered just under a third of what he has requested.Â
He revealed he was offered just 30 per cent of what he believes he is owed.
This was the second offer that Mr Bates had rejected, the first offer in January was around 16 per cent and he described it as ‘cruel, offensive and derisory’.
Mr Bates was sacked from his Llandudno branch in 2003, when he refused to accept blame for shortfalls on his account.
After years of campaigning against this decision, he would uncover that he was just one of around 900 sub-postmasters who were wrongly prosecuted over the software issues.
Some of these people were sent to prison after being convicted of false accounting and theft, some had their finances left in tatters and some will never see justice as they have since died.
The Government set up a compensation scheme for these postmasters called the Group Litigation Order (GLO), that opened last year to ensure the claimants received extra money to reflect the gravity of their situations.
Applicants in this scheme can also opt to settle their claims on a full and final basis for a total fixed sum of £75,000, inclusive of interest, instead of making a claim for their individual losses.
The Post Office Inquiry will resume on September 23.
