According to a report in the Hudderfield Daily Examiner two men jailed over alleged child abuse in Kirklees care homes dating back two decades have begun an Appeal Court bid to overturn their convictions. John Stephen Siddall, 46, of Dewsbury, was jailed for four years after he was convicted of three counts of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child after trial at Leeds Crown Court in July 1999. Ian Brooke, 47, of Batley, was jailed for 10 years after standing trial at Leeds Crown Court the following year. He was convicted of three counts of rape, indecent assault and a further serious sexual offence. Both men's cases reached the Appeal Court yesterday as lawyers mounted an attack on the safety of their convictions, with the hearing scheduled to last four days. Their challenges were referred to the Appeal Court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the body that investigates possible miscarriages of justice. Siddall's QC, Vincent Coughlin, led the attack … [Read more...]
Teacher who died in prison is cleared posthumously of rape
The following article By Ian Rosser, Education Reporterappears in the Leeds Today A West Yorkshire teacher who died in prison after being convicted of raping one his pupils has been cleared posthumously.Timothy Gee was jailed for eight years when he was convicted at Leeds Crown Court in 2001. He fell ill and died from an undiagnosed blood cancer the following year.Always maintaining his innocence, Mr Gee launched two unsuccessful appeals before his death. He has now been cleared by the Court of Appeal.Campaigners have described the case as one of the worst miscarriages of justice they have seen.Gail Saunders, of the campaign group Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers, said: "It is an appalling example of the extraordinary difficulties faced by individuals who are accused of abuse many years after the alleged offence."Mr Gee's 88-year-old mother Molly has been awarded more than £62,000 costs by the court after battling to clear her son's name. As part of that bid, she … [Read more...]
CCRC Refer Case to Appeal Court
The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the convictions for rape and indecent assault of Mr Michael R to the Court of Appeal. Mr R was convicted at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 28 August 1998 of three charges of rape and six charges of indecent assault against two girls. He was sentenced to a total of ten years in prison. Mr R was refused leave to appeal by a Single Judge in December 1998 and an application to the Full Court in February 2000 was also dismissed. Mr R applied to the Commission on 13 April 2005. Having considered a range of issues, including the directions given to the jury, the Commission has decided to refer the case back to the Court of Appeal. The Commission is the independent public body set up by Parliament in 1997 to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to decide if they should be referred to the appeal courts. Mr R is represented by Mr Chris … [Read more...]
Recent Parliamentary Questions
Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby, Lab) asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list organisations which have received funding from his Department to help individuals who claim to have been falsely accused of sexual crime; and how much each organisation received in the last five years for which figures are available. Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office) replied The Home Office has not provided any funding to organisations helping those who claim to have been falsely accused of sexual crime in the last five years. The Office for Criminal Justice Reform does provide funding for the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). People who believe they have been wrongly convicted or sentenced and who have exhausted all the normal review procedures can ask the CCRC to review their case. The CCRC can refer the case back to the appropriate appeal court if they conclude that there was a real possibility that the conviction or sentence would … [Read more...]
Parliamentary Questions
On 21st November 2005 Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby, Lab) asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what upgrades are being made to the hardware and software elements of the Criminal Cases Review Commission's IT system. Fiona Mactaggart (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office) repliedThe Commission is currently engaged in a project to implement an electronic records management system. This will enable it to discharge its duties under the Public Records Act 1958, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Office of Criminal Justice Reform has also recently agreed additional funding to maintain and approve the Criminal Cases Review Commission's (CCRC) data mining functionality. This is a retrieval system which enables the CCRC caseworkers to use experience gained in similar cases to reduce the time it takes to deal with new cases.Hansard sourceAcknowledgement … [Read more...]
Parliamentary Questions
On the 9th November Claire Curtis Thomas asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigating officers were appointed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission during the period from 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2004; and how many cases were investigated during this period.Fiona Mactaggart (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office) replied As at 31 March 2004 the Criminal Cases Review Commission had 47 case review managers (CRMs) in post. Two CRMs were appointed between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004 and there were five departures. During the period, 901 cases were completed and 885 new cases were received. The Commission also appointed five investigating officers under section 19 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004 to investigate six cases. There was also one ongoing investigation in the same period which involved one investigating officer investigating three cases.AcknowledgementHansard ReferenceOn the 14th … [Read more...]
Parliamentary Questions
The following questions concerning investigations into alleged child abuse were asked by Claire Curtis Thomas in the UK ParliamentWritten Answers – Home Department: Criminal Cases Review Commission (2 Nov 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many process improvement projects were active in the Criminal Cases Review Commission during 2003–04; and what issues they addressed. Written Answers – Home Department: Criminal Cases Review Commission (2 Nov 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) complainants and (b) complaints there were to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2003–04; and how many cases were involved. Written Answers – Home Department: Criminal Cases Review Commission (2 Nov 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2004–05 concerned case review … [Read more...]
Parliamentary Questions
The following questions were asked by Claire Curtis Thomas MP regarding issues to do with the investigation of child abuse. Written Answers – Home Department: Criminal Cases Review Commission (1 Nov 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether minimisation of case accumulation is a priority for the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2005–06. Written Answers – Home Department: Criminal Cases Review Commission(1 Nov 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the backlog of cases at the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2004–05. Written Answers – Home Department: Criminal Cases Review Commission (1 Nov 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to minimise case accumulation at the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Written Answers – Home Department: Criminal Injuries … [Read more...]
Parliamentary Questions – CCRC
Claire Curtis-Thomas asked the following questions in Parliament in relation to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (21 Jul 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Historical Abuse Appeal Panel on abuse cases; and if he will make a statement. Written Answer (6 Jul 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many judicial review actions against the Criminal Cases Review Commission have been resolved without a final decision in court. Written Answer (6 Jul 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many judicial reviews against the Criminal Cases Review Commission have been upheld by the court. Written Answer (6 Jul 2005) Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of cases referred to the Court of Appeal by … [Read more...]
CRCR Announce Research into Expert Witnesses
Role of Expert Witnesses in Trials is to be Independently Reviewed The Criminal Cases Review Commission wants to see if lessons can be learned from convictions overturned due to flawed scientific or medical evidence. Lawyer Bill O'Brien, of the University of Warwick, is to study some of the 7,300 cases referred to the commission. He will examine whether experts are putting forward views that are implausible or too partisan (more). … [Read more...]
Bob Woffinden article in The Times
Posted on 11th November 2003Bob Woffinden has an excellent article in todays Times (11 November 2003) on challenging the history of child abuse and the problem posed by false allegations. Challenging history of child abuse by Bob Woffinden.There is fresh hope for former carers who claim to have been wrongly convicted of crimes from the past.A FORMER care worker stood in court last year accused of abusing children more than 20 years previously. The prosecution of Anver Daud Sheikh was supported by the allegations of people who had been in his care at the time. Sheikh's defence was that the offences described had simply not happened, but he was convicted and jailed for eight years.Since then a witness who made, then retracted, allegations has provided a fresh statement, saying that the complainants "were racist, and saw (Sheikh) as a 'Paki bastard' ". The witness added: "It was easy to make the allegations . . . the officers kept encouraging us."Sheikh has been given leave to … [Read more...]
All Party Group for Investigations
This item was first published on the FACT website on 18th SeptemberHere is, at last, the APGAI newsletter covering our work over the last few months.I have had meetings with:Hazel Blears (Home Office Minister responsible for the Police & Crime Reduction)The purpose of this debate was to highlight the fact that during the last 10 years thousands of teachers have been falsely accused of ‘crimes’ they did not commit and despite the fact that only 1% of those accused are successfully prosecuted the minister argued that there was insufficient evidence to change the rules and procedures which govern the way in which complaints are dealt with. Needless to say I was disappointed with the response. The follow up meeting I had with Hazel was more productive and we are now working with her office on a number of matters - more about that in our next newsletter. Paul Goggins (Home Office Minister for Prisons)The meeting we had with Paul Goggins was by comparison far more constructive, we … [Read more...]
CCRC refer care home case to Court of Appeal
This item first appeared on the F.A.C.T. website on the 10th January 2005Press release 16 December 2004 COMMISSION REFERS SEXUAL OFFENCES CARE HOME CONVICTIONS OF JOHN SIDDALL AND IAN BROOKE TO THE COURT OF APPEALThe Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the convictions for sexual offences of John Siddall and Ian Brooke to the Court of Appeal. Both men were convicted at Leeds Crown Court after a police inquiry into alleged abuse at West Yorkshire care homes in the 1980s. Mr Siddall was convicted on 29 July 1999 of three charges of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child. He was sentenced to four years in prison. A Single Judge refused Mr Siddall leave to appeal in December 1999. Mr Siddall applied to the Commission in August 2000.Mr Brooke was convicted on 4th April 2000 of three charges of rape, indecent assault, and another serious sexual offence and was jailed for 10 years. A Single Judge refused Mr Brooke leave to appeal in July 2000. A further appeal was … [Read more...]
Lobbying Idea – Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – Terms of Reference
This item first appeared on the FACT website on the 24th February 2005Despite the very good work undertaken by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) most independent observers accept that its hands are tied by the stautory requirement that they can only refer cases to the Court of Appeal if there is a 'real possibility' that the case will be overturned. A fairer test would be that referrals should be made when there is an 'arguable case that there is a miscarriage of justice' If you are planning to lobby your MP you might like to add this suggestion to your list. … [Read more...]
Innocence Projects – Update
This item was first placed on the F.A.C.T. website on 16th April 2005Six months on from the Innocence Projects Colloquium, University of Bristol, it seems timely to provide an update of innocence project activity. It is still very, very early days yet, but as will be seen below, the signs are that the seeds are starting to be sown for a vibrant network of student participation in alleged wrongful convictions - fingers crossed!BristolI am pleased to report that the University of Bristol Innocence Project held its first meeting 27 January 2005. The Project is very much in an embryonic phase at present. It comprises myself, Bharat Malkani - who is a 1st year postgraduate and the Postgraduate Director - and around 10 undergraduates, primarily 1st year students and a couple of second year students. It was decided that there would be little point in recruiting 3rd year students to get the Project up-and-running, as by the time they were in a position to handle a case they would have … [Read more...]
Canning Case Shows Need for Fairer System of Redress
Criminal lawyers argue that compensation schemes for the wrongfully convicted are in urgent need of reform NINE years ago Paul Grecian, a Scottish businessman who used to supply defence equipment for governments worldwide, was languishing in a South African jail after having been arrested under an Interpol extradition order from the US. “I got this call from a lawyer in London,” he recalls. “I have no idea how he got hold of me. It was sheer luck because I happened to be near a phone and the guy who took the call shouted ‘Englishman, Englishman’.” The solicitor asked whether the 49-year-old Scot wanted to pursue a compensation claim from prison over his prosecution by Customs and Excise for selling military equipment to Iraq. His conviction had already been quashed after Sir Richard Scott’s arms-to-Iraq inquiry but, despite that, the American Government wanted him for allegedly breaking its export rules. That phone call marked the start of his epic fight with the Home … [Read more...]
Book launch – Judge for Yourself
JUDGE FOR YOURSELF HOW MANY ARE INNOCENT – LOCAL AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO THE BRITISH LEGAL SYSTEM’S APPALLING NUMBER OF MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE PROVES TO BE A STARTLING REVELATION Launch party & signing: 11th November 2004, 5pm onwards Hammicks Book Shop, 191-193 Fleet St. London Paddy Joe Hill (Birmingham 6), Paul Blackburn & Michael Mansfield QC in attendance Monday 1ST November 2004: Roots Books, a UK publishing house dedicated to documenting the political and social aspects of injustice in Britain is proud to announce the release of London writer, L A Naylor’s debut book Judge for Yourself. Guest speakers at this special launch event will also include Michael Mansfield QC, Paddy Joe Hill and Paul Blackburn who was locked up when a child of 15 years old, for 25 years. Blackburn has always denied guilt of the attempted murder for which he was convicted. The Criminal Cases Review Commission has just referred his case back to the Court of Appeal. On this day … [Read more...]
It’s getting worse for vulnerable parents
Two months ago, health.telegraph explored the problem of children being taken into care after their parents had been falsely accused of ill-treatment. Since then, reports Cassandra Jardine, more than 40 couples have defied the rules of secrecy to tell of their own experiencesSince the acquittal of Sally Clark, Angela Cannings and Trupti Patel, a large question mark has hung over the belief, held by some paediatricians and social workers, that there is a hidden epidemic of child abuse in this country. Help needed: 'it is getting worse for vulnerable parents and vulnerable children' Those three women, whose children died sudden, unexpected deaths, had never been in trouble with the police or social services, yet they were accused of murder. The overturning of those verdicts may have left people with the impression that such miscarriages of justice no longer occur. Unfortunately, that confidence seems to be misplaced, as more cases are arising all the time. Nor does a child have to die … [Read more...]
Injustice victims given new chance
Victims of miscarriages of justice have helped set up a network to enable academics, lawyers and those wrongly accused of crimes in the past to research cases of prisoners who say they have been falsely convicted. Criminals who have exhausted their appeals process will be able to ask the organisation - known as the Innocence Network UK - to review their cases. Lawyers and activists will see whether there are any new grounds which could be put before the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The Lord Chancellor's Department statistics show that since 1985 more than 85,000 verdicts have been overturned on appeal. Those involved in establishing the network, which will be initially based at Bristol University, include Paddy Hill, who was freed in 1991 after being wrongly convicted of the Birmingham 1974 pub bombings that killed 21, and Michael O'Brien, one of three men known as the Cardiff Three, who were wrongly jailed for the killing of Philip Saunders in 1987. Also involved in the network … [Read more...]
Freed care worker demands answers
The case against Anver Daud Sheikh was "holed" A care worker who had his sex assault convictions quashed says serious questions must be asked about miscarriages of justice in child abuse cases. Anver Daud Sheikh was two years into an eight-year term for serious sexual assaults on two boys in a Yorkshire care home where he worked 20 years ago. The Court of Appeal found his conviction unsafe after concerns were raised about historic abuse cases. Key evidence had not tallied with the dates Mr Sheikh worked at the home. 'Elated but angry' "Today the tide is turning and serious questions have to be asked about the miscarriages against former teachers and carers in care homes," Mr Sheikh said in a statement read by his lawyers. "My thoughts rest with the many other men and women who still have to have their day in the court of appeal," his solicitor Mark Newby said. "As I walk out today I have very mixed feelings. I am elated to be going home but angry with what has happened to me," he added … [Read more...]
Over 100 abuses case may be re-investigated
More than 100 teachers and care workers convicted of child abuse could now have their cases re-investigated. Today, a former care worker jailed for abusing children more than 20 years ago had his conviction quashed as unsafe. Anver Sheikh had served two years of an eight-year sentence, and will now be released on bail while judges decide next month if he should face a retrial. Lawyers say many of the convictions hinge on the credibility of the witnesses. The Criminal Cases Review Commission says it expects some of the cases will be referred to them..... C4 News … [Read more...]
Carers and teachers child abuse convictions to be reviewd
Child abuse convictions reviewed There are fears of a new genre of miscarriages of justice More than 100 former carers and teachers convicted of child abuse are having their convictions investigated. The Criminal Cases Review Commission and Historical Abuse Appeal Panel are probing whether there have been dozens of miscarriages of justice. There are fears some alleged victims made false abuse claims in hope of compensation - and these were followed up too enthusiastically by the police. The panel are taking their first case to the Court of Appeal on Thursday. It involves former care worker Anver Sheikh, who has served almost two years of an eight-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting boys in 1980.... BBC … [Read more...]
Home Affairs Select Committee calls for new safeguards
The Home Affairs Select Committee has called for a range of new safeguards to cover the investigation and trial of people accused of sexual abuse in children's homes. In a report published today the Committee calls for audio or video recording of police interviews with alleged victims; anonymity for the accused; a tightening of the rules of evidence; and wider powers for the Criminal Cases Review Commission to enable alleged miscarriages of justice to be reviewed. The Committee says that "a new genre of miscarriages of justice" has arisen from what it calls "the over-enthusiastic pursuit" of abuse allegations in children's homes, many relating to incidents said to have occurred going back twenty or thirty years. It also says that a large number of people who are not charged may have had their lives ruined or seriously damaged by unfounded allegations. Home Affairs Committee Press Release (28) … [Read more...]
