Andrew Malkinson receives ‘unreserved apology’ after 17-year jail sentence for rape he didn’t commit

Charles Hymas
Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London
Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after he was cleared of the offence last year - JORDAN PETTITT/PA

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has offered an “unreserved apology” to Andrew Malkinson for its handling of his case after he spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit.

Mr Malkinson was jailed in 2004 for an attack on a woman in Salford the year before. His conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2023 after DNA linking another man to the crime was produced.

The apology comes after an independent review of the case by Chris Henley KC.

Helen Pitcher, chairman of the CCRC, said: “Mr Henley’s report makes sobering reading, and it is clear from his findings that the commission failed Andrew Malkinson. For this, I am deeply sorry. I have written to Mr Malkinson to offer him my sincere regret and an unreserved apology on behalf of the commission.

“There may have been a belief that I have been unwilling ever to apologise to Mr Malkinson, and I want to clarify that this is not the case. For me, offering a genuine apology required a clear understanding of the circumstances in which the commission failed Mr Malkinson. We now have that.

“Nobody can ever begin to imagine the devastating impact that Mr Malkinson’s wrongful conviction has had on his life, and I can only apologise for the additional harm caused to him by our handling of his case.”

The CCRC twice rejected Mr Malkinson’s appeals. It was also revealed that files obtained by the 57-year-old showed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) knew forensic testing in 2007 had identified a male DNA profile on the victim’s vest top that did not match his own.

An internal log of Mr Malkinson’s first application to the CCRC in 2009 shows the body raised the cost of further testing and argued it would be unlikely to overturn the conviction.

Mr Malkinson outside the Court of Appeal last month after his conviction was quashed
Mr Malkinson outside the Court of Appeal last month after his conviction was quashed last year - JORDAN PETTITT/PA

Speaking last year outside the High Court when his conviction was overturned, Mr Malkinson said he had been “kidnapped” by the state. “I came to the police station in 2003. I told the officers I was innocent. They didn’t believe me.

“I came to the crown court in Manchester in 2004, I told the jury I was innocent, they didn’t believe me.

“I came to this court in 2006 and told them I was innocent but they didn’t believe me.

“I told the Criminal Cases Review Commission I was innocent – they didn’t investigate and they didn’t believe me.

“Today [July 26 2023] we told this court I was innocent and, finally, they listened. But I was innocent all along, each of those 20 years,” he said.

Greater Manchester Police apologised at the time for making Mr Malkinson the victim of “such a grave miscarriage of justice”.

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