CCRC refers HGV driver’s ‘swerving’ conviction to the Crown Court based on new expert evidence  

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred the driving conviction of an HGV driver to the Crown Court because a new expert report casts doubt on whether any offence took place.  

Paul Down was convicted on 25 May 2024 at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court of driving without due care and attention. He received six penalty points on his licence and a £1,000 fine. He was also ordered to pay costs.  

Mr Down was driving an HGV on the M5 motorway in August 2023 when officers in an unmarked police car claimed to have observed the vehicle swerving in the inside lane and over the hard shoulder line. After pulling alongside Mr Down, the officers further stated that they observed the HGV cross into the middle lane, nearly colliding with the police car. 

Mr Down was prosecuted and pleaded not guilty. Dashcam evidence was shown at trial, and the officers who had stopped Mr Down gave evidence. Mr Down was found guilty.  

An appeal against conviction at the Crown Court was dismissed in June 2024. Mr Down applied to the CCRC in December 2024.  

As part of its review, the CCRC received the report of an expert, newly commissioned by Mr Down’s solicitors to analyse the dashcam footage used at trial.  The report found that at no point in the dashcam footage could Mr Down’s vehicle be seen to have encroached on or crossed over any of the lane lines. 

The CCRC has concluded that this report would be admissible at court and goes to the central issue in the case. Therefore, Mr Down’s defence at a rehearing would be strengthened by this new evidence, in that the expert could be called to testify and his report used in cross-examination of the officers.  

The CCRC therefore finds that there is a real possibility that Mr Down’s conviction will not be upheld by the Crown Court.  

CCRC Chair Dame Vera Baird KC said: “It is not well known that the CCRC has a statutory obligation to review cases, if an application comes to us, where there has been a conviction at the magistrates’ court and an appeal to the crown court has been dismissed. 

“This is an equivalent duty to that we have for crown court cases which have been lost on appeal at the Court of Appeal Criminal Division. 

“Although these are smaller cases, they can have a profound impact on the defendant if they are wrongly convicted. For instance, someone with a conviction may be unemployable in their trade; a conviction can trigger a Disclosure and Barring entry which might block someone, for life, from working with children. Yet often people are unrepresented at the magistrates’ court, and the law is, arguably, less uniformly applied.  

“Happily, these cases are often far more quickly reviewed and actioned. The test for a referral is the same – that there is a real possibility that the conviction will be overturned, and we are satisfied that our test is passed in this case.” 

[ENDS]

Notes to Editors: 

1. The CCRC is an independent body set up under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is responsible for independently reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is based in Birmingham and is funded by the Ministry of Justice.     

2. There are currently ten Commissioners who bring to the CCRC considerable experience from a wide variety of backgrounds. Commissioners are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Prime Minister in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice.   

3. The CCRC usually receives around 1,500 applications for reviews (convictions and/or sentences) each year. Since starting work in 1997, the CCRC has referred around 3% of applications to the appeal courts.     

4. The CCRC considers whether, as a result of new evidence or argument, there is a real possibility that the conviction would not be upheld were a reference to be made. New evidence or argument is argument or evidence which has not been raised during the trial or on appeal.  Applicants should usually have appealed first. A case can be referred in the absence of new evidence or argument or an earlier appeal only if there are “exceptional circumstances”.          

5. If a conviction is referred to the Crown Court it is for the Court to decide whether to uphold the conviction. 

6. More details about the role and work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission can be found at www.ccrc.gov.uk. The CCRC can be found on X, Facebook, Instagram (@the_ccrc) and Linkedin.