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In 2021, Helen Pitcher OBE was appointed to a second term as Chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). She has now resigned - Chair of miscarriages of justice review body quits - BBC News - and claims to have been "scapegoated" by Ministers in connection with the CCRC's handling of the Andrew Malkinson case.
The Malkinson case
On 10th February 2004 Mr Malkinson was convicted of attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle C with intent to commit an indictable offence, namely rape, and of two offences of rape. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. He has always denied committing any of the offences. (C is entitled to life-long anonymity).
Mr Malkinson's convictions were quashed
by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in 2023 - Malkinson, R. v [2023] EWCA Crim 954 (07 August 2023). (His appeal was allowed on 3 out of 5 grounds which are set out in the court's judgment). Mr Malkinson always maintained his innocence.The Henley Review (commissioned by CCRC)
On 21 August 2023, the CCRC announced that it had commissioned Chris Henley KC to carry out an independent review of its handling of Mr Malkinson’s case. This reported on 5 April 2024 and the report is available at Integrated-Report-Response-Redacted-Copy.pdf.
CCRC acknowledged that it "failed Mr Malkinson" and that its analysis and handling of the case was flawed. The FULL CCRC response to Henley's report is in the previous link.
A non-statutory inquiry
In October 2023, the Lord Chancellor (then Alex Chalk MC MP) set up a non-statutory inquiry under the chairmanship of Her Honour Judge Munro KC. At the time of writing, this Inquiry continues ...
Action to remove Helen Pitcher
The BBC's news report (HERE) states -
'Despite the criticisms of 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's majority findings led Mahmood to send a recommendation to the prime minister to advise the King to remove the chair. The full details of the panel's report are confidential.
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.'
Resignation
Helen Pitcher's resignation letter is here
Here, Pitcher claims that Alex Chalk "scapegoated" her at an "early stage" and it appears that she opted to go to the panel because she had not had an opportunity to input he views. It is also revealed that she has never met Shabana Mahmood (the current Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor).
She also claims that there was no evidence that any other Chair would have acted in any other way. The letter concludes by expressing a concern that it may be difficult to find a new Chair if the appointee will be held personally responsible for historical failures over which they had no say.
It has of course been well-known for some years that the CCRC is, in common with most (perhaps all) agencies linked to criminal justice, under-resourced and under-funded. The Henley Review included a recommendation that the CCRC be provided with more resources by the Government. What, if anything, happened is not clear.
It is also well-known that Mr Malkinson is still awaiting compensation for the years he spent in prison. Media reports (e.g. The Bolton News) note that Mr Malkinson 'feels vindicated' after Pitcher's resignation but it is also reported that he said that he has received nothing so far 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.”
Perhaps the resources and compensation matters might now be addressed .....!
The structure of the CCRC can be seen on their website - Our team - Criminal Cases Review Commission. The body has 113 staff and around 50 of those are case reviewers.
Criminal Cases Review Commission Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24
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