Press releases
Commission publishes its Annual Report and Accounts for 2017/18
The latest Annual Report and Accounts of the Criminal Cases Review Commission has been published today. The Annual Report and Accounts for 2017/18 sets out facts and figures in relation to the performance and finances of the independent public body established 1997 to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice. The Commission’s Annual Report and Accounts was … Read more >
Commission refers the joint enterprise murder conviction of Jordan Towers to the Court of Appeal
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the joint enterprise murder conviction of Jordan Towers to the Court of Appeal. Mr Towers was 16 years old when he was tried in October 2007 at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Crown Court for murder and for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He and two co-defendants were tried … Read more >
CCRC Answers to Panorama Questions
Here are all of the questions that Panorama put to us and the answers we supplied. We publish them here because, having seen the Panorama programme on 30th May, we did not feel that they had been represented clearly or given sufficient weight. The CCRC has been accused by certain stakeholders of being “moribund … Read more >
Commission refers the convictions of seven people convicted of travel document offences
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred for appeal the travel document offences of seven individuals. All seven arrived in the UK without passports and were charged with failing to produce an immigration document contrary section 2(1) of the Asylum and Immigration (treatment of claimants) Act 2004). They had arrived from various countries including Iran, … Read more >
Commission refers the conspiracy to murder convictions of Wassab Khan, Faisal Saraj, Abdul Jabbar, Abdul Maroof and Omran Rashid
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred to the Court of Appeal the conspiracy to murder convictions of Wassab Khan, Faisal Saraj, Abdul Jabbar, Abdul Maroof and Omran Rashid. The five men were convicted together at Stafford Crown Court in November 2011 for their parts in the shooting of Mohammed Afsar. On 21st December Wassab … Read more >
Commission refers the joint enterprise murder conviction of Laura Mitchell to the Court of Appeal
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the joint enterprise murder conviction of Laura Mitchell to the Court of Appeal. Laura Mitchell was tried for murder and violent disorder on the basis of joint enterprise at Bradford Crown Court in September 2007. She pleaded not guilty but was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with … Read more >
Commission refers the conviction of A to the Crown Court
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the malicious communications conviction of A to the Crown Court. Mr A was convicted at magistrates court in 2014 of sending a communication conveying false information with the intent to cause distress, contrary to section 1 (1)(a) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, (“MCA 1988”). He was sentenced … Read more >
A new CCRC Stakeholder Forum and Lecture Series starting 2018
The Criminal Cases Review Commission is launching two new significant stakeholder engagement initiatives. A new CCRC Lecture Series will start on April 25th with a lecture by Sir Brian Leveson called The Pursuit of Criminal Justice. Sir Brian Leveson is Head of Criminal Justice in England and Wales, President of the Queen’s Bench Division and the author of the … Read more >
Text of letter sent 5 July 2016 from CCRC Chair Richard Foster to DPP, Attorney General and others
Dear Re: Disclosure in Criminal Proceedings During the course of its work, the Commission occasionally encounters themes that occur across a range of case reviews. When these themes give cause for concern, the Commission will seek to draw attention to them in the hope that they can be addressed to the betterment of the wider … Read more >
Comment piece by CCRC Chair Richard Foster – written at request of Daily Mail on 22 December 2017, but unused.
The right to a fair trial is at the heart of our justice system and is a cornerstone of our democracy. In the 1980s this right was breached, leading to shocking miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four. The police failed in their fundamental duty of honesty. That is why … Read more >