Chair of miscarriages of justice review body quits

The embattled and heavy criticised seat of the miscarriages of justness reappraisal assemblage the Criminal Cases Review Commission has resigned.

Helen Pitcher had been criticised for the agency's failings successful narration to the Andy Malkinson affair, which saw Mr Malkinson walk 17 years successful jailhouse for a rape helium did not commit.

Ms Pitcher told the Times successful an interrogation that she had been made a scapegoat.

Mr Malkinson called Ms Pitcher's connection "shameless", adding: "I cognize what it genuinely is similar to beryllium a scapegoat."

The BBC understands Mrs Pitcher spoke to the paper earlier telling ministers oregon elder members of the committee that she was resigning.

A authorities root said Ms Pitcher had "jumped arsenic she was pushed", arsenic the premier curate had received an autarkic proposal to counsel the King to region her from office.

Last summer, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood began the ceremonial process of sending a proposal to the King that Ms Pitcher should go, aft personally concluding that she was not acceptable to caput the CCRC.

That determination came aft a damning autarkic study into however the CCRC had mishandled Mr Malkinson's pleas for help, and however the seat herself had presented its enactment connected his case.

While helium was successful jail, the CCRC doubly rejected Mr Malkinson's submissions that helium was innocent.

He was lone cleared aft exhaustive enactment by his ain ineligible squad tracked down long-available DNA grounds that showed different antheral indispensable person carried retired the rape successful 2003.

The archetypal of 2 autarkic reviews into the lawsuit recovered that the CCRC had failed to implicit basal enactment that could person formed uncertainty connected Mr Malkinson's condemnation - and that Mrs Pitcher's statements arsenic seat had not decently reflected these failings.

A second, judge-led, enquiry into wider allegations of failings, including by Greater Manchester Police which archetypal accused Mr Malkinson of the crime, is continuing.

Despite the criticisms of Ms Pitcher, ministers had nary powerfulness to sack her straight due to the fact that the CCRC is an autarkic transgression justness body.

The seat is appointed by the King to guarantee the agency's separation from ministers, prosecutors and judges.

That meant the Ministry of Justice had to exceptionally acceptable up an autarkic sheet to measure whether Ms Pitcher was acceptable to stay successful office.

The sheet of three, including a subordinate chosen to correspond Ms Pitcher, concluded successful caller days that Mahmood had been close to reason the seat should go.

That proposal was past sent to the premier curate to counsel the King accordingly.

Had Ms Pitcher not quit, it is thought she would person been the archetypal nationalist servant successful modern times to beryllium sacked by the monarch nether specified a process.

In her resignation letter, Mr Pitcher said she had been made a scapegoat by Alex Chalk KC, the Conservatives' past justness secretary.

Mr Chalk, who the BBC has contacted, did not commencement the process to region Ms Pitcher but had launched a judge-led enquiry into the Malkinson case.

"The trigger for convening the sheet was based connected understandable media outrage implicit the appalling attraction of Andrew Malkinson," Ms Pitcher said successful her letter.

"Serious questions stay for Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

"I enactment that the DPP [the manager of nationalist prosecutions, who heads the CPS] and the main constable of the GMP person not been the taxable of comparable criticism.

"It feels unfair that I, who supported sending Mr Malkinson's lawsuit backmost to judges, person been singled out."

But Mr Malkinson told the BBC: "Helen Pitcher's effort to represent herself arsenic the unfortunate present is shameless.

"I cognize what it genuinely is similar to beryllium a scapegoat.

"I agree, however, that others request to beryllium held accountable.

"The CCRC's elder leadership, starting with the CEO, indispensable besides resign to pave the mode for root-and-branch reform.

"I americium astonished that the outgoing seat claims that the CCRC was capable to 'resolve the situation,' and acceptable maine free.

"That enactment was done by my squad astatine [legal charity] Appeal, not the CCRC, who were considering rejecting my lawsuit for a 3rd time.

"Going forward, it is important that the CCRC is led by radical with the guts to situation miscarriages of justice, adjacent if that means taking connected forces similar the constabulary and judiciary."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The Lord Chancellor established an autarkic sheet to see Helen Pitcher's relation arsenic seat of the CCRC. We invited her resignation.

"Given the value of the CCRC's work, we volition name an interim seat arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable who volition beryllium tasked with conducting a afloat and thorough reappraisal of however the organisation operates."