Andrew Malkinson ‘vindicated’ after resignation of case review board boss
Criminal Cases Review Commission chairwoman Helen Pitcher quit on Tuesday, claiming she had been made a ‘scapegoat’ in the case.
Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of rape, said he feels “vindicated” after the resignation of the head of the body which investigates potential miscarriages of justice.
Mr Malkinson was jailed in 2004 until his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in July last year.
Announcing her resignation on Tuesday, Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) chairwoman Helen Pitcher said she had been made a “scapegoat”, and claimed it is “unfair” she has been “singled out” in receiving the level of scrutiny that she has over her part in the litany of failings in Mr Malkinson’s case.
Speaking to Justin Webb on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Malkinson said: “She’s been complaining that she’s been made a scapegoat, Justin, but I was made a scapegoat.
“She has been made accountable, actually, and I feel vindicated.”
Mr Malkinson said he hopes Ms Pitcher’s departure will mark the beginning of a “root and branch” reform of the CCRC, adding he believes the organisation’s “entire culture” is “tainted”.
Ms Pitcher noted in her resignation letter to the Justice Secretary that the original rejection of Mr Malkinson’s appeal was “almost a decade before my time”, adding: “On my watch, armed with new DNA evidence which we commissioned, we were able to resolve the situation, and set Mr Malkinson free.”
Asked about these comments, Mr Malkinson said it is “blatantly untrue” that the CCRC did “all the work”, and instead it was legal charity Appeal which exonerated him.
“In fact, Appeal did all of the work that Ms Pitcher has claimed credit for, and this has made everybody here quite angry, you know, and I feel quite emotional about that,” he added.
“It was Appeal that set me free.”
Appeal investigator James Burley told the programme Ms Pitcher was trying to “rewrite history” by claiming the CCRC commissioned new DNA testing in the case.
He said: “All the critical testing was arranged by us.
“The one thing the CCRC did which we didn’t have the power to do was arrange a search of the DNA database, which resulted in a match.
“The CCRC also didn’t uncover the disclosure failings in the case, which is something that, again, we did.”
Mr Malkinson said he has received “nothing” so far in compensation for the 17 years he spent behind bars, and that he does not understand the reason for the delay.
He continued: “From this vantage point, it looks like I’m just waiting for a signature, which seems a little silly.
“This is not a complicated case. Everyone agrees I’m innocent, so why don’t they just send me an interim payment so I can pay my bills and travel and not be dependent on the Government, the Department of Work and Pensions, it seems quite silly.”
In a separate interview on the Today programme, Treasury minister Darren Jones acknowledged Government compensation schemes have “often been too slow”, but said he is not familiar with the details of Mr Malkinson’s case.
He pointed to how the current Government has sped up getting money to those affected by the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals.
