Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice | Report publication

8 March 2021

The long-awaited report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Miscarriages of Justice Inquiry into the Criminal Cases Review Commission has been published. A copy of the Report can be found here.

The Inquiry took evidence from a number of leading lawyers who are experts in miscarriage cases, including Pete Weatherby QC.  Pete commented:

“This Inquiry was an important investigation into the shortcomings of the criminal appeal system in identifying and dealing with serious errors which have led to many innocent persons languishing in jail for decades, and the ‘backstop’ CCRC which is meant to catch those cases, and right serious wrongs.  The Inquiry report recognises the serious under funding of the CCRC and makes important recommendations regarding the tests that should apply in potential miscarriage cases. In essence it proposes that the system should be much less conservative in how it approaches such cases, and refer many more back to the Court of Appeal for review.  Whether the report leads to meaningful change remains to be seen but if our justice system, buckling under chronic under funding, is to maintain credibility, policymakers from all sides should sit up and read it.”