11 December 2007

CCRC fails me in my miscarriage of justice case

This morning I phoned my case manager at the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), Ms Angela Flower, to check that she had received the new evidence that I have uncovered, regarding deficiencies during my trial and the false significance attached to an old ‘restricted’ document. Ms Flower told me that the CCRC will investigate my points and get back to me when they have a decision.

I informed Ms Flower that Mr Andrew Mackinlay MP had raised a parliamentary question about the ‘restricted’ document 2 years ago, and he had specifically asked when the document became obsolete. Mr Adam Ingram MP declined to answer that question on 10 January 2006, on the basis that the CCRC was currently investigating the matter.

The CCRC clearly did NOT investigate this matter, because they gave me a provisional rejection a few months later in July 2006. Mr Martin Winstone, who is currently responsible for the ALARM missile at MBDA, was also asked about the significance of the ‘restricted’ document, and he likewise failed to draw attention to the fact that it became obsolete in 1984, and so could not have been used on an ALARM missile.

I have spoken on the phone to Mr Winstone myself, and he declined to comment on the status of the document. The CCRC are aware of the importance of this issue and that their failure to uncover evidence about the document has led me to conduct my own investigations - I now appear to know more about this matter than the CCRC do.

This is a very sad reflection on the competence of the CCRC, and the underhanded methods being used by certain individuals to prevent the truth from becoming public. It needs to be fully investigated why the document’s obsolescence was not disclosed to my Defence, because it led to my trial being unfair. Once this matter is resolved we can then, hopefully, move towards an Appeal and a re-trial.