Stockwell Six duo cleared 50 years after convictions

A man wrongfully convicted of attempted robbery has had his name cleared at the Court of Appeal, more than 50 years after being the victim of a racist miscarriage of justice.

- HOLLY EVANS

Ronald De Souza is the final member of the Stockwell Six to have his conviction quashed, after being accused of trying to rob corrupt British Transport Police (BTP) officer Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell.

Another of Ridgewell’s victims, Errol Campbell, also had his conviction overturned posthumously in a separate trial at the Court of Appeal yesterday.

Mr De Souza was jailed for six months for allegedly trying to rob Ridgewell on a night out in south London in 1972, despite telling jurors that officers had subjected him and his co-defendants to violence and threats.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) reviewed his conviction after previously overturning those of his co-defendants Courtney Harriot, Cleveland Davidson, Texo Johnson and Paul Green in 2021.