Andrew Malkinson: Why are some wrongfully convicted prisoners charged jail living costs?

"Even if you combat bony and nail and summation compensation, you person to wage the Prison Service for alleged 'board and lodging'," said Andrew Malkinson, aft his archetypal nighttime arsenic an guiltless man.

The rules were primitively imposed by judges successful the lawsuit of the men wrongly convicted of the execution of paperboy Carl Bridgewater successful 1978.

"It's benignant of sick," said Mr Malkinson, who served 17 years successful situation earlier yet being released successful 2020.

The rules day backmost to a determination made successful 2007 by the House of Lords, erstwhile it was the UK's highest court.

Brothers Vincent and Michael Hickey, who had been convicted of the execution of Carl Bridgewater astatine a workplace adjacent Stourbridge successful 1978, were freed by the Court of Appeal.

Their convictions were recovered to beryllium fundamentally flawed successful 1997, and the past location caput Jack Straw decided that they and their co-defendant James Robinson were entitled to compensation.

Michael Hickey was awarded £1.02m and Vincent Hickey received £550,000 but, successful each case, a 25% deduction was made from the conception of their compensation which reflected their nonaccomplishment of net portion successful prison.

This was due to the fact that of the surviving expenses they had not had to money portion successful prison.

The men appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) but the tribunal ruled successful favour of the Law Lords' decision.

Mr Malkinson's compensation besides depends connected whether the justness caput decides "a caller oregon recently discovered information shows beyond tenable uncertainty that helium did not perpetrate the offence".

The maximum outgo successful cases wherever idiosyncratic has been successful jailhouse for much than 10 years is £1m.

He told the BBC's World astatine One programme: "I retrieve my solicitor phoning maine up, and she said, 'They're going to complaint you furniture and board'.

"What's the logic successful this? They don't complaint blameworthy people, they lone complaint guiltless people.

"It was the last insult, arsenic acold arsenic I was concerned, to an guiltless man."

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said deductions from compensation were sometimes made erstwhile determination had been "substantial savings" made connected surviving costs portion a idiosyncratic was successful custody.

Mortgage oregon rental costs mightiness beryllium considered, she said.

But she added: "There's a large quality betwixt furniture and committee and surviving costs.

"There's a large quality betwixt a deduction and being required to wage wealth back."