Press releases

  • Commission refers firearms offences of Gary Lee Williams to the Court of Appeal

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred for appeal the firearms offences of  Gary Lee Williams to the Court of Appeal. Mr Williams pleaded not guilty but was convicted in May 2007 at Wolverhampton Crown Court of Possession of a Firearm with Intent to Endanger Life, Possession of a Prohibited Firearm, Possession of Expanding Ammunition, … Read more >

  • Commission refers the case of M, a minor.

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred for appeal the sexual offences conviction of M. M, who was minor at the time of conviction and therefore cannot be identified, pleaded not guilty but was convicted at Youth Court in 2015 on two counts of sexual offences against another minor. M was sentenced to a youth rehabilitation … Read more >

  • Commission refers the 1981 arson and manslaughter convictions of Peter Tredget (aka Bruce Lee) to the Court of Appeal

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the arson and manslaughter convictions of Peter Tredget[1] to the Court of Appeal. Mr Tredget (then known as Bruce Lee) pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court  to 11 counts of arson and 26 related counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.  The charges related to eleven fires … Read more >

  • Commission refers the conviction of Mr L to the Crown Court

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred conviction of Mr L to the Crown Court Mr L, an Iranian national, was convicted at Uxbridge magistrates Court in the summer of 2011 for failing to produce a satisfactory immigration document (contrary to section 2(1) Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004). Mr L arrived had … Read more >

  • Commission refers the convictions of Winston Trew and Sterling Christie on the basis of police misconduct.

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred convictions of Winston Trew and  Sterling Christie to the Court of Appeal. Messrs Trew and Christie were convicted along with two others at the Old Bailey on 8th November 1972. All four men were convicted of assaulting a police officer and attempted theft. Mr Christie was also convicted … Read more >

  • Commission refers the case of Miss S to the Crown Court

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the case of Miss S to the Crown Court. Miss S is an Iranian who fled Iran following her treatment by government forces because of her involvement in a political movement and after a close friend was killed during an anti-government demonstration. She left Iran in June 2012 … Read more >

  • CCRC Chairman Helen Pitcher’s letter to The Spectator, submitted 23/08/2019

    See below for the text of a letter from the Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, Helen Pitcher OBE to The Spectator, submitted on 23/08/2019. It relates to Matthew Scott’s online article of 16/08/2019. Sir, Your report (Coffee House, 16 August 2019) “Kicking criminals is easy, but who will speak up for the accused?”, … Read more >

  • Commission refers the case of Tracey Newell to the Court of Appeal.

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the case of Tracey Newell to the Court of Appeal. On 29 November 2012, at Inner London Crown, Ms Newell pleaded guilty to seven counts of benefit fraud. The counts related to claims for Housing and Council Tax Benefit covering the period from 1 August 2005 to 5 … Read more >

  • CCRC Chairman Helen Pitcher’s letter to The Times re: “Ministers bullied justice watchdog” article.

    This letter was submitted to The Times on July 30 in relation to an article that appeared the day before. It was not published so we have made it available here. Sir, I take issue with your article “Ministers bullied justice watchdog, lawyers claim” (Times 29 July). The CCRC has never had any problem standing … Read more >

  • Commission refers conviction of Mr C for appeal

    The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the case of RC to the Crown Court. Mr C is an Iranian national who was involved over a number of years with anti-government activity in his country. He was imprisoned on a number of occasions and tortured. In March 2011, in fear of his life, he fled … Read more >