Criminal Review Board apologises for failing Andrew Malkinson
He was wrongly jailed for 17 years for a rape in Salford he didn't commit
Last updated 19th Apr 2024
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has offered an "unreserved apology" for failing Andrew Malkinson after he spent 17 years in prison for being wrongly convicted of rape.
Mr Malkinson, 57, was wrongly found guilty of raping a woman in Greater Manchester in 2003 and the next year was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years.
The body's chairman Helen Pitcher said an independent review of the case carried out by Chris Henley KC made it clear the "commission failed Andrew Malkinson", adding: "For this, I am deeply sorry."
Mr Malkinson finally had his 2003 conviction quashed last summer after years protesting his innocence.
He had applied for his case to be reviewed by the CCRC in 2009, but at the conclusion of its review in 2012 the commission refused to order further forensic testing or refer the case for appeal, amid concerns over costs.
A second application was rejected in 2020.
Crucial DNA evidence had been available since 2007, but no match was found on the police database at the time.
In a statement on Thursday, Ms Pitcher said:
"Mr Henley's report makes sobering reading, and it is clear from his findings that the commission failed Andrew Malkinson.
"For this, I am deeply sorry. I have written to Mr Malkinson to offer him my sincere regret and an unreserved apology on behalf of the commission.
"There may have been a belief that I have been unwilling ever to apologise to Mr Malkinson, and I want to clarify that this is not the case. For me, offering a genuine apology required a clear understanding of the circumstances in which the commission failed Mr Malkinson. We now have that.
"Nobody can ever begin to imagine the devastating impact that Mr Malkinson's wrongful conviction has had on his life, and I can only apologise for the additional harm caused to him by our handling of his case."
Andrew Malkinson said he felt “vindicated” by the Criminal Cases Review Commission’s apology but added “it is too little too late”.
In a statement issued on his behalf by legal charity Appeal, he said: “The time for Helen Pitcher to apologise was last summer when I was exonerated.
“It was already crystal clear that the CCRC had completely failed me. Yet she’s held off on apologising until a report spelled this out for her in black and white. It is hard for me to see sincerity in an apology after all this time – when you are truly sorry for what you have done, you respond immediately and instinctively, it wells up in you.
“The CCRC’s failings caused me a world of pain. Even the police apologised straight away. It feels like Helen Pitcher is only apologising now because the CCRC has been found out, and the last escape hatch has now closed on them.
“The CCRC’s delay in apologising to me added significantly to the mental turmoil I am experiencing as I continue to fight for accountability for what was done to me.
“Last September, my lawyer wrote to Helen Pitcher directly requesting an apology. She replied saying she didn’t agree with many of our criticisms of the CCRC’s handling of my case and refused. That smacks to me of someone who is in denial and not fit to lead a body which is meant to be dedicated to rooting out failings in our justice system.
“I hope the Justice Secretary Alex Chalk will bring in new leadership at the CCRC. I am innocent and I am not the only one. Others must not be let down as I was. The CCRC should be led by people with empathy, humility, and a track record of fighting injustice.”