Surge in backlog of appeals over 'wrongful convictions'

Figures fuel fresh concern about performance of watchdog

- ANDY GREGORY, AMY-CLARE MARTIN

The backlog of people left waiting to know whether they will be allowed to reappeal an alleged miscarriage of justice has soared by nearly half in just four years, The Independent can reveal.

As the gatekeeper over which cases can be returned to the Court of Appeal, the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) came under fire this year after a damning review found its failures may have kept Andrew Malkinson behind bars for up to 10 extra years on a wrongful conviction of rape.

Fuelling further concern over the vital watchdog’s performance, new figures now reveal that the number of cases awaiting a verdict by the CCRC – all of which involve people alleging they were wrongfully convicted or sentenced – soared from 700 to more than 1,010 in the space of just four years.

And the new data disclosed by the Ministry of Justice shows the CCRC has failed to refer more than 33 cases back to the Court of Appeal in any of the past three years – while simultaneously refusing over 1,000 applications every year.

Matt Foot, co-director of Appeal, the charity which helped Mr Malkinson overturn his conviction in 2023 after 17 years in prison, expressed alarm at the “disturbing” rise in the number of cases backlogged within the CCRC and the “consistently very low” rates of referral to the courts.