Major, Danny

Danny Major was convicted on 1 November 2006 at Bradford Crown Court of battery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was acquitted of a third count of assault and was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment. 

Mr Major, who was then a Police Constable with West Yorkshire Police, was accused of assaulting a detainee in the van dock and in a cell at Leeds Bridewell Police Station in the early hours of 6 September 2003.  

Following conviction, Mr Major was granted leave to appeal but this was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 12 July 2007.  

In September 2007, Mr Major applied to the CCRC. The CCRC’s review carefully considered extensive submissions.  

On 2 August 2011, the CCRC issued a detailed Final Statement of Reasons setting out its decision not to refer Mr Major’s case to the Court of Appeal. 

In 2013, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) began an independent review of Mr Major’s conviction named Operation Lamp. In December 2015, the review’s report concluded that there was fresh evidence that cast doubt upon the safety of Mr Major’s conviction. The CCRC subsequently launched a new review of the case.  

In 2016, on the recommendation of the Lamp report, GMP launched Operation Redhill as a criminal investigation of the events that led to Mr Major’s conviction.  

The CCRC decided that it was not possible to progress its review of Mr Major’s convictions whilst the first phase of Operation Redhill was underway. The CCRC therefore closed Mr Major’s case on the understanding that it would consider reopening it at the conclusion of this first phase.  

In February 2020, the CCRC re-commenced its review. As part of a detailed investigation, the CCRC considered evidence that gave rise to a real possibility the Court of Appeal would find Mr Major’s convictions were unsafe and would quash them.  

The CCRC referred the conviction in March 2025.