New chair to do 'whatever it takes' to reform legal appeals body
The new interim chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has told the BBC she will do "whatever it takes" to reform the embattled legal appeals body. Dame Vera Baird KC said the CCRC seemed "incapable of learning from their mistakes" and she wanted to "root out" the culture causing them. Dame Vera has been tasked by the government with carrying out a review of the CCRC and to increase public confidence in the organisation and its work investigating potential miscarriages of justice. The former victims commissioner and government minister was appointed on Tuesday after her predecessor Helen Pitcher quit following the fall-out from the wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Dame Vera described the CCRC as a "hugely important organisation for our criminal justice system" but criticised the agency in its current state."They seem incapable of learning from their mistakes," she said, later referencing that Mr Malkinson's case was not dissimilar to that of Victor Nealon - a man who also spent 17 years behind bars after wrongfully being convicted of attempted rape."Even as the CCRC was looking at an identical case in Malkinson [they were] failing to refer to [past cases]," Dame Vera said. "There is some inability to grasp the level of failure that is going on."She also said she is writing to body's chief executive Karen Kneller to "discuss her position" and future.Mr Malkinson was accused in 2003 of raping a woman in Greater Manchester. He was later convicted and jailed for life despite no DNA linking him to the crime.He spent 17 years in prison - during which time he applied twice for his case to be reviewed by the CCRC but was turned down - and was eventually released in December 2020.
Only after new evidence pointed to another potential suspect in January 2023 was his case referred to the Court of Appeal. Mr Malkinson's conviction was overturned in July 2023.A year later, an independent review found Mr Malkinson had been completely failed by the CCRC with the damning report concluding he could have been freed five years after being initially imprisoned.The handling of the case led to Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood seeking to sack Ms Pitcher as CCRC chair.She later resigned in January. When asked if she fears there may be other cases similar to Malkinson's out there, Dame Vera said there is doubt around whether the CCRC is doing their job in a "rigorous and positive way at all". "There is a question mark over that," she said, "which stems from the cases we know that have been catastrophically handled. I think as we dig a little deeper, and as I talk to people who tried to get cases referred, we may find more."Since the Malkinson case the CCRC has initiated an internal review of cases in which DNA was an element in convictions of people for the most serious crimes. As well as planning to meet with Ms Kneller, she said she intends to talk to lawyers and some of the people who have not had their miscarriages of justice properly referred.Dame Vera, a criminal barrister, became an MP in 2001 and was solicitor general during Gordon Brown's administration between 2007 and 2010, one of the top legal posts in government.She went on to become the police and crime commissioner for Northumbria Police and then the victims commissioner for England and Wales between 2019 and 2022.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Diplomatic tightrope on Iran just got more precarious for Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer has been treading a delicate diplomatic tightrope all week on the issue of night's airstrikes by the US mean the challenges facing the prime minister could now continue for Keir's repeated calls for de-escalation have clearly not been heeded by the White he has avoided direct UK involvement in military action and has sought to maintain what British diplomats claim is a solid and valuable relationship with US president Donald Trump. The response from ministers appears to be it was not the means they wanted, but they supported the UK has not explicitly endorsed the method, but the result - a delay in Iran getting nuclear weapons - is, they argue, in the UK's national Keir's position has shifted since Tuesday, when he seemed confident Trump would not intervene, after sitting next to him at a G7 dinner in Canada."I was sitting right next to President Trump, so I've no doubt, in my mind, the level of agreement there was," he four days later the president intervened. Did the prime minister misread Trump? Or did the president - whose unpredictability is central to his foreign policy approach - just change his mind? No 10 has told us it was given advanced warning of the US action, but the UK was not asked to take part. We do not know had been speculation that US B-2 stealth bombers could have used the UK's Diego Garcia airbase in the Indian Ocean as a waypoint en route to "Operation Midnight Hammer" involved B-2s flying non-stop for 18 hours to reach their targets, according to the latest on US strikes on IranIran's secretive nuclear site that only a US bomb could hitWhat we know about US strikes on IranIt is possible the UK was not asked for assistance because it would have been a difficult request to have been debates at the top of government in recent days about the legality of any UK involvement, with the attorney general, Lord Hermer, providing advice on a range of the next steps in the conflict unclear, the US could end up requesting military support from the UK in the coming weeks - prompting further difficult decisions for the prime minister. So, what next? US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has responded to concerns the US attacks could prompt the start of a long conflict by insisting: "This is most certainly not open-ended".Yet the actions of both the The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) suggest they fear retaliation from is why British diplomats have been planning a flight early next week to help "vulnerable British nationals and their dependents wanting to leave Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories".Defence sources have told me measures to protect British armed forces in the Middle East have been strengthened in the past few hours, with additional fighter jets already in the region and at "high readiness".One UK diplomat told me UK-US relations remain strong, as demonstrated by Foreign Secretary David Lammy's long meeting with secretary of state Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on we do not know if - or how - Iran might respond, or whether the UK or its military could be targeted. Starmer's high-wire act has just become even more dangerous.
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Family of charity hero found stabbed to death by crew investigating a gas explosion pay tribute to 'truly wonderful woman'
The family of a charity hero who was found stabbed to death after a gas blast at her £1.4million home has described her as a 'truly wonderful woman'. Relatives of 46-year-old Annabel Rook say they are still struggling to come to terms with her death after she was found with knife wounds on Tuesday inside her two-storey Victorian-style home in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, north-east London. Ms Rook worked for charity MamaSuze CIC, which she co-founded, that supported refugee and migrant women, some who had fled domestic violence, with art and drama activities. In a statement issued via the Metropolitan Police, her family said: 'We have lost our beautiful daughter, sister, friend and mother. Annabel was a truly wonderful woman. 'She touched the hearts of so many. She gave her life to helping the vulnerable and the disadvantaged whether it was in refugee camps in Africa or setting up MamaSuze in London, to enhance the lives of survivors of forced displacement and gender-based violence. 'We would really appreciate it if our privacy could be respected.' A 44-year-old man was arrested at the address on suspicion of murder and was taken to hospital with slash wounds. He was later discharged and released into police custody, the force said, with Scotland Yard previously describing the Ms Rook's death as 'a domestic-related incident'. John Martin, artistic director of PAN Intercultural Arts, where Ms Rook worked with young refugees for 16 years until 2022, previously described her as 'a larger-than-life character' who joined the charity as a volunteer with lots of energy. In a personal tribute, Mr Martin said: 'Annabel's energy brought a lot to the women and gave them new hope. 'This was her speciality, I think - a sort of a boundless optimism, a boundless self-confidence, which she transferred onto other people.' 'She spent her life, certainly the 10, 12 years that I knew her, fighting against women who had been abused, fighting against violence to women, and the irony is that she then suffered from violence to women in the way that she died yesterday,' he said. MamaSuze said in a statement shared on its Instagram page on Tuesday that it was 'devastated by the loss of our beloved co-founder' and that she treated everyone with 'warmth and kindness'. 'Annabel was a profound force for good in the world, dedicating her working life to supporting women survivors,' it added. Police were called at 4.57am on Tuesday to reports of a gas explosion with a person trapped inside the property. The front bay window of the property was completely blown out that morning, with debris including plants, wooden shutters and glass scattered across the street. Two children, aged seven and nine, were also taken to hospital as a precaution following the incident but are not thought to have been inside the home when the explosion happened. Six fire engines and 40 firefighters were also called to the scene. Anyone with information that could assist the investigation into the incident has been urged to contact police on 101 quoting CAD 926/17June. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Telegraph
37 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Assisted dying, abortion, grooming gangs...Britain is morally deformed
I've a friend in a nursing home with very bad cancer. Physically, he feels OK, but there are hints of mental confusion. One afternoon we watched a quiz show on a blank television that wasn't turned on. It was proof, he said, that his mind couldn't be going because he got all the answers right. With the passage of Kim Leadbeater's Bill – save a stay of execution in the Lords – he suddenly looks like a candidate for assisted dying, and yet his suffering strengthens the case against. My friend, at this stage, is miserable less because of the tumour than because he's poor – can't afford a home care – and anxious because he wakes up in a strange place and imagines he's been kidnapped. He tells me he is at the centre of a plot by the state to kill the old by driving them mad. Though I assure him that no government is competent enough to pull such a thing off, I'm beginning to wonder if he has a point. Last week, the Commons voted to decriminalise abortion and legalise state-assisted suicide, the latest twist on 'cradle to grave'. Supporters spoke of humanising the law, of continuing the 'progressive' effort begun in the 1960s when abortion was first permitted. But there's a big contextual difference. Social liberalism in a time of economic growth was about increasing choice; today, in a period of austerity, it suggests narrowing options. Can't afford a baby? Terminate it. Worry you might burden the grandkids? Take a seat in the suicide pod. Of course this isn't what MPs meant by voting this way – but when you cut benefits for the elderly and cap them for children, and then make it easier to destroy yourself or your baby, it's hard not to infer a link. People keep saying to me, with a dash of British humour, that the state intends to kill us all to save money. Let's assume this is wrong. Let's call the speculation tasteless. Nevertheless, we have to account for why so many people feel this way, for the historic loss of trust. This is not some opioid-induced fantasy; human beings respond to cues. The third story in the grimmest week of Starmer's premiership was the publication of the Casey report, which confirmed that Asian men raped girls, and that officials declined to act because it might appear racist. This is mind-blowing stuff and shows how morally deformed our establishment now is. It has no coherent understanding of good and evil – in the difference between innocence and guilt – and in its yearning to look good by its own bizarre standard, it permits evil to flourish. In 2025, a person who prays outside an abortion clinic faces arrest. Meanwhile, a foreign-born, convicted rapist might avoid deportation by invoking their human rights. Religion, in fact, barely featured in the assisted dying debate, except to suggest that opponents might be acting under orders from the Pope. This fantasy pays a backhanded compliment to a faith that has been losing its influence for a very long time. As far back as 1937, Cosmo Gordon Lang, the archbishop of Canterbury, abstained in a Lords vote on divorce because he judged it 'no longer possible to impose the full Christian standard by law on a largely non-Christian population'. Christianity defined the West for so many centuries that its loss is experienced as the death of a fixed order, but we mustn't forget that Jesus was a revolutionary who overturned an even older system of ethics. Pagans, who largely felt life was meant to be enjoyed, thought the martyrdom-chasing Christians were nuts. One can see why. They taught that death is not the end, life is a test, and suffering is an opportunity to imitate the crucifixion. For example: the 7th century saint Cuthbert had a best friend, Herbert, and the two men dreamt of spending eternity together. But Cuthbert was a famously holy man, so would pass through purgatory to Heaven fast, whereas Herbert was just a very good man, so, they feared, might take longer – delaying their reunion. How did God fix the problem? He generously gave Herbert a long, painful illness, so that when he died on the same day as Cuthbert, his soul was so cleansed by suffering that they entered paradise at the same time. Weird, isn't it? Yes, but it also seeded into the West the idea that our life belongs to God, that He made us in his image, and this is a foundation for the principle that you can't take away another's life at will. This gradually flowered into rights for women or slaves, the peace movement and abolition of the death penalty. The problem with a commandment, of course, is that it's inflexible: it extends to unwanted foetuses and relatives in pain. Around the 19th century, we detached God from ethics, getting around the 'Thou Shalt Nots' and opening morality up to negotiation. Add individualism, toss in consumerism, and moral action today is contingent upon personality, economics, circumstance. Back when I was a socialist, before religion came into it, I wasn't comfortable with the idea that one unborn baby gets to live because its parents happen to be married and rich, whereas another is aborted because its mother is single and poor. Humanistic morality seemed surprisingly naive about the reality of the human condition, its appetites and deprivations. Looking at my friend in the nursing home, to what possible extent can one say he has 'agency'? I'm not sure he understands his diagnosis. The notion that he might have a chat with Kim Leadbeater, she with a smile and a clipboard in her hand, and make a rational choice to die next Wednesday afternoon is preposterous. The opportunity for error or manipulation is self-evident, yet many cannot, or will not, see it. For anyone who does choose assisted dying, I hope Christians respond with mercy. We are not in charge of Britain, haven't been for a long time, and I'm not sure I'd want to be. The best options left are to witness and accompany, to do the sometimes depressing, occasionally rewarding work of being with people when they go. I enjoy holding my friend's hand. I'd never have done that when he was healthy.
