Exclusive: Man who spent 17 years in prison after wrongly being convicted of rape says he will ‘shout from the rooftops’ for UK law reform
Andrew Malkinson says he could have been spared “20 years of darkness and despair” if the jury system had not been changed to allow majority verdicts.
Malkinson was exonerated of rape last summer, two decades after a jury wrongly convicted him by a majority of 10 to 2.
Continue reading...Suggestions that 13-year-old was pushed into river by schoolmate led to online comparisons with Stephen Lawrence murder
A senior police officer has raised concerns that a “narrative” was built up suggesting the death of a black boy allegedly pushed into a Welsh river by a schoolmate was a racist killing.
Det Ch Insp Matt Powell, who led the police investigation into 13-year-old Christopher Kapessa’s death, said comparisons to Stephen Lawrence’s murder on social media led to tensions rising in the community and meant the suspect had to be given protection.
Continue reading...Bar Council chair Sam Townend KC says parliament should consider formal regulation of growing practice
Parliament should consider formal regulation of the growing practice of private prosecutions to ensure the power is not abused, the chair of the Bar Council has said.
Sam Townend KC said a review of private prosecutions should be launched in response to the Post Office scandal, in which about 3,500 postmasters were accused of theft, fraud and false accounting, and more than 700 prosecuted in cases brought by the organisation.
Gather evidence of the alleged crime, possibly using a private investigator.
Hand over evidence to a lawyer, who will review whether there is sufficient evidence to bring a criminal prosecution.
Make an application at a magistrates court to bring a private prosecution. This will be reviewed and either granted or rejected by a district judge.
The CPS may review the case at any time if the case is referred by the defendant, the private prosecutor or the court. The CPS can take over cases, either to proceed or discontinue.
If you proceed privately, the case will (eventually) be heard in court.
At the end of the case your lawyers can apply for costs to be reimbursed from the defendant and/or the public purse.
Continue reading...Labour leader was director of public prosecutions when three cases brought by CPS resulted in convictions
Keir Starmer has denied he was aware of Crown Prosecution Service prosecutions against post office operators caught up in the Horizon IT scandal when he headed the agency.
The Labour leader’s comments came as calls grew for the former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to hand back £3m in bonuses earned during her period in charge.
Continue reading...Comments from Paul Johnson of Institute of Fiscal Studies come as Downing Street hints at delay to work on second phase of rail link
Around 20,000 university workers are out on strike this week at more than 50 universities across the UK, despite a dramatic last-minute scaling back of industrial action.
Strikes had been set to go ahead at 142 UK universities this week as part of a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions, but it emerged last week that two thirds of branches of the University and College Union (UCU) had declined to take part.
Davey said the Lib Dem commitment – dating back to 1992 – to raise income tax by 1p to improve public services is unsustainable in the current economic climate. Originally the money raised was earmarked for education, but at the last election the party said it would use it to fund the NHS.
Speaking from Bournemouth to broadcast studios, Davey suggested the burden should instead fall on companies making “huge profits” while people struggle with the cost of living.
Continue reading...Exclusive: No action taken despite 2007 discovery of searchable male DNA profile on rape victim’s top that did not match Malkinson’s
Police and prosecutors in the Andrew Malkinson case knew there was another man’s DNA on the victim’s clothes in 2007 – three years after he was wrongly convicted of rape – but he remained in prison for another 13 years.
Malkinson was cleared by the appeal court last month after spending 17 years in prison for a 2003 rape he did not commit. His exoneration came after fresh DNA testing linked another man to the crime.
Continue reading...Offensive chants about tragedies such as Hillsborough can be public order offences under new guidance
Football fans in England and Wales could be banned from matches if they mock tragedies such as the Hillsborough disaster, under updated guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service.
The CPS guidance will state that actions such as singing, chanting or displaying offensive messages about disasters or accidents involving players or fans can be seen as a public order offence.
Continue reading...CPS and Home Office had ‘miscommunication’ over Khairi Saadallah, who went on to kill three, pre-inquest review hears
Charges against a man who was later responsible for the Reading terror attack were dropped due to “miscommunication” between the Home Office and Crown Prosecution Service, a pre-inquest review has heard.
Khairi Saadallah murdered three men in a Reading park on 20 June 2020 as coronavirus restrictions were eased. Saadallah allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he stabbed friends James Furlong, 36, David Wails, 49, and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Domestic abuse charges authorised by CPS declined from 82,158 to 43,836 in 2021-2022, Labour party reveals
The number of charges related to domestic abuse has halved since 2015, figures for England and Wales uncovered by the Labour party have revealed, while similar offences recorded by police have more than doubled.
Domestic abuse charges authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have steadily declined from 82,158 in 2015-2016 to 43,836 in 2021-2022, the data shows. Over the same period, the total number of domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police has soared by 116% from 421,185 in 2015-2016 to 910,980 in 2021-2022.
Continue reading...Members of Criminal Bar Association take fight for a 25% rise in legal aid fees to parliament
Barristers are heading to parliament as they begin their first whole week of strike action over levels of legal aid funding they say are bringing the criminal justice system to its knees.
Members of the Criminal Bar Association, which represents advocates in England and Wales, began action with a two-day strike at the end of last month and have been escalating it by an extra day every week.
Continue reading...Vera Baird calls for therapy notes to be excluded from criminal trials, as they are in Australia
New guidance designed to give rape victims confidence to get therapy before their trial “makes things worse” for survivors and lessened their protections, according to the victims’ commissioner, Vera Baird.
The guidance issued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) aims to “alleviate victim concerns that accessing counselling could damage the prosecution case,” but Baird echoed concerns from campaign groups that they, in fact, reduce protections and called for therapy notes to be excluded from criminal trials, as they are in Australia.
In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
Continue reading...Human rights group argues law unfairly attaches gang motives to black and minority-ethnic young men
The human rights group Liberty is threatening to sue the government and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over the bitterly contested law of joint enterprise, arguing that it is discredited and racist in the way the authorities pursue it.
Under the law, people present when a person is killed can be convicted of murder despite not committing any serious violence themselves, if they are found to have “encouraged or assisted” the perpetrator. Liberty is acting for the campaign group Joint Enterprise Not Guilty By Association (Jengba), which supports approximately 1,400 people in prison who believe they have been unjustly convicted of serious crimes perpetrated by somebody else.
Continue reading...Court closures, defunded legal aid and barrister shortages are adding to an already excruciating ordeal, while invasive investigations are leading many to drop proceedings altogether
For Nina, the prospect of walking into a police station and reporting her stepfather for child sexual abuse was, she says, her “worst nightmare ... It was something I’d dreaded my whole life,” she says. She had been raped by her stepfather for years when she was a child – and he had promised all sorts of consequences if she ever told anyone. Her mother, he told her, would kill herself. He implied that he might, too – but one thing he always assured her was that he would never go to jail.
When she was in her late teens, Nina finally told her mum, who was devastated, but believed her. It took years, however, before she felt ready to press charges. “One of the things that stopped me from telling anyone that it was happening at the time was the terror of standing in a courtroom putting all that shame on show – and that felt even worse the older I got.
Continue reading...Lawyer said flatulence was caused by heart medication and argued the request violated his dignity
A senior barrister who sued the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after a colleague asked him to stop breaking wind in the room they worked in together has lost his case.
Tarique Mohammed sued for harassment and told an employment tribunal that his repetitive flatulence was caused by medication he was on for a heart condition.
Continue reading...As the popular BBC drama returns, a former crime reporter takes a look at the reality of fighting police corruption
Last week, an officer from South Wales police received formal notification that they were under investigation regarding their dealings with a man who had been arrested and held overnight in a cell in Cardiff.
The suspect had been released from custody the following morning then found dead shortly afterwards. The investigation is to focus on whether the level of force used by the officer was “necessary, proportionate and reasonable” in the circumstances.
Continue reading...Changes in policy since 2016 have led to an overly risk-averse approach, court of appeal hears
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has been accused of “systemic illegality” in its approach to charging rape cases in a landmark judicial review into how the crime is prosecuted.
On the opening day of the hearing at the court of appeal, lawyers for the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) and End Violence Against Women (EVAW) accused the CPS of “raising the bar” for rape prosecutions, which they argued had led to a steep drop in the number of cases being charged.
Continue reading...Caitlin McNamara says she will appeal the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision not to pursue Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan for the alleged attack in Abu Dhabi
The British woman who accused a United Arab Emirates senior royal of sexually assaulting her has vowed to fight on after the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute him last month, saying that the CPS decision sends “a clear message to this man and those committing similar crimes that as long as they’re of economic value to the UK, they can do whatever they want”.
Caitlin McNamara, who was the curator of the first Hay festival in Abu Dhabi in February, went public with her accusations last month. She alleges that Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of tolerance, had attacked her shortly before the festival, which his department had funded. McNamara had believed she would be attending a business meeting with the royal, who denies the allegations through a London lawyer: “Our client is surprised and saddened by this allegation, which arrives eight months after the alleged incident and via a national newspaper. The account is denied.”
Continue reading...Member of public seeks judicial review of Max Hill’s ‘inaction’ over alleged lockdown breaches
A judicial review is being sought over the failure of the director of public prosecutions, Max Hill, to investigate Dominic Cummings for alleged breaches of the coronavirus lockdown rules.
The complaint has been lodged on behalf of a member of the public, Martin Redston, who is concerned the DPP has shown insufficient independence from the government over the movements of Boris Johnson’s key adviser.
Continue reading...Pause follows uncertainty over how trials would work given physical distancing needs
Crown court trials across England and Wales were suspended or collapsed on Monday as judges attempted to find safer ways for juries and lawyers to conduct hearings.
There have been suggestions, including from the Ministry of Justice, that courts move to handling urgent work only during the coronavirus crisis, but no one has defined what types of cases that might involve.
Continue reading...Crown Prosecution Service panel examines decision to prosecute when alleged victim wanted matter dropped
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will review its handling of the assault case against the late Love Island host Caroline Flack.
Flack killed herself on 15 February while awaiting trial on charges she assaulted her boyfriend Lewis Burton with a lamp.
Continue reading...