Campaigner Sir Alan Bates gets married on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island
The pair have been together for 34 years but had never married
Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates has married his partner Suzanne Sercombe on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. The wedding was kept as a surprise from his partner Suzanne Sercombe.
The wedding was officiated by the Virgin tycoon on his private island in the British Virgin Islands last month, The Sunday Times reported.
Sir Richard reportedly 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.”
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.
Sir Richard told The Sunday Times: “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.”
Alan Bates, accompanied by Suzanne Sercombe, arriving at Aldwych House, central London, to give evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry
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.
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.
Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Sir Alan’s wife in the ITV drama, said Suzanne is “the wind beneath his wings”.
The Post Office Inquiry will resume on September 23.
The Press Association
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