Chair of miscarriages of justice review body quits


The chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, Helen Pitcher, has resigned following criticism of the agency’s handling of the Andy Malkinson case. Mr Malkinson spent 17 years in jail for a rape he did not commit, but the CCRC twice rejected his submissions that he was innocent. The first of two independent reviews into the case found that the CCRC had failed to complete basic work that could have cast doubt on Malkinson’s conviction – and that Mrs Pitcher’s statements as chair had not properly reflected these failings. A second, judge-led, inquiry into wider allegations of failings, including by Greater Manchester Police which first accused Mr Malkinson of the crime, is continuing.

Last summer, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood began the formal process of sending a recommendation to the King that Ms Pitcher should go, after concluding that she was not fit to head the CCRC. Despite the criticisms levelled against Ms Pitcher, ministers had no power to sack her directly because the CCRC is an independent criminal justice body. The chair is appointed by the King to ensure the agency’s separation from ministers, prosecutors and judges. That meant the Ministry of Justice had to exceptionally set up an independent panel to assess whether Ms Pitcher was fit to remain in office.

The panel of three, including a member chosen to represent Ms Pitcher, concluded in recent days that Mahmood had been right to conclude the chair should go. That recommendation was then sent to the prime minister to advise the King accordingly. Had Ms Pitcher not quit, it is thought she would have been the first public servant in modern times to be sacked by the monarch under such a process.

In her resignation letter, Pitcher said she had been made a scapegoat by Alex Chalk KC. Mr Chalk, who had launched a judge-led inquiry into the Malkinson case, did not initiate the process to remove Ms Pitcher. “The trigger for convening the panel was based on understandable media outrage over the appalling treatment of Andrew Malkinson,” Ms Pitcher said in her letter. “Serious questions remain for Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. It feels unfair that I, who supported sending Mr Malkinson’s case back to judges, have been singled out.”

But Mr Malkinson told the BBC that the CCRC’s senior leadership, starting with the CEO, must also resign to pave the way for root-and-branch reform. “Going forward, it is crucial that the CCRC is led by people with the guts to challenge miscarriages of justice, even if that means taking on forces like the police and judiciary.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the department would appoint an interim chair as quickly as possible who would be tasked with conducting a full and thorough review of how the organisation operates

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