Andrew Malkinson calls miscarriage of justice watchdog’s ex-head ‘shameless’
Andrew Malkinson calls miscarriage of justice watchdog’s ex-head ‘shameless’
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Helen Pitcher resigned from the CCRC saying she had been ‘scapegoated’ over Malkinson’s case. Andrew Malkinson has called the former head of the miscarriage of justice watchdog “shameless” as she resigned from the job saying she had been “scapegoated for entirely legitimate decisions” taken over his case.
![[Helen Pitcher]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/51420fb13dcdca559bebcde77268543b5d9c6001/0_9_2771_1663/master/2771.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Helen Pitcher handed in her resignation as chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) on Tuesday afternoon after learning that an independent panel had concluded by a majority of two to one that she was no longer fit to be chair. In a letter to the justice secretary she said she felt that she had been chosen as a “scapegoat at an early stage” for the Malkinson case and that “a head had to roll and I was chosen for that role”.
Malkinson said: “Helen Pitcher’s attempt to portray herself as the victim here is shameless. I know what it truly is like to be a scapegoat. I agree however that others need to be held accountable. The CCRC’s senior leadership, starting with the CEO, must also resign to pave the way for root and branch reform.”.
An independent review last year found that the watchdog missed multiple opportunities to help Malkinson, who spent 17 years in jail for a 2003 stranger rape he did not commit. Chris Henley KC found that Malkinson could have been exonerated almost a decade earlier if the CCRC had properly understood the forensic evidence.
