Mr K

In May 2017 before a Youth Court, acting on the advice of his lawyer, Mr K, then aged 17, pleaded guilty to the production of cannabis. He received a 12-month referral order.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in December 2019.

Following a detailed review, the CCRC concluded that there was ample evidence at the time of Mr K’s arrest, charge, and conviction to suggest that he was a credible victim of trafficking (VoT).

This should have prompted an investigation of his situation and he should have been referred through the National Referral Mechanism for identification and safeguarding in accordance with Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance.

There was also new evidence that Mr K was a child victim of modern slavery and that his offending was a direct consequence of his trafficked situation.

In these circumstances, Mr K may have had a defence under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 but his lawyers at the time did not advise him of this.

That defence would probably have succeeded and therefore a clear injustice had been done.

Consequently, the CCRC decided there was a real possibility the Crown Court would allow Mr K to vacate his guilty plea and, if the CPS re-prosecuted him, stay the proceedings as an abuse of process or otherwise not uphold the conviction.

The CCRC referred the conviction in May 2022.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in September 2022.