Andrew Malkinson, a victim of one of the UK's most severe miscarriages of justice, is being forced to pay thousands of pounds for his own damages assessment, reducing the compensation he receives after spending 17 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Financial Burden on Wrongfully Convicted
Mr Malkinson has criticised the system as 'vindictive' and 'penny-pinching' after being left with a bill of up to £10,000. He told the BBC on Tuesday: 'I have to pay for my own damages assessment and legal fees. I don't know what the justification is, it doesn't make any sense at all. They're trying to claw back as much as possible, they are penny-pinching.'
He has challenged the Secretary of State for Justice, David Lammy, to change the rules. 'I think this is something that David Lammy could fix with the stroke of a pen tomorrow easily, and I'd like to ask him, does he think this is fair?'
Wider Injustice in Compensation System
Mr Malkinson highlighted that 93% of those wrongfully imprisoned receive no compensation at all. 'It's really wrong, it feels vindictive. Why doesn't the state, the perpetrator of the injustice, pay the experts and the legal fees because they did the damage, not me?'
After numerous failed appeals, his conviction was quashed in 2023 when the Crown Prosecution Service accepted that DNA on the victim's clothing belonged to the real attacker, Paul Quinn. Quinn, from Exeter, Devon, was found guilty of two counts of rape, GBH, and strangulation at Manchester Crown Court and will be sentenced on June 5.
Relief for Victim and Questions for Police
Mr Malkinson expressed relief that authorities had 'finally got the real perpetrator' and thought about the victim: 'I did think, I wonder how she's feeling now?'
Now 60, Malkinson always maintained his innocence but was convicted after being identified in a police lineup. Quinn had stalked and raped a 33-year-old mother of two after dragging her down an embankment near the M61 motorway in Little Hulton, Greater Manchester, before choking and knocking her out.
Quinn is being investigated for other serious sexual assaults, including three rapes committed while he was at large. Greater Manchester Police faces questions about why Quinn was not investigated earlier, despite being a convicted sex offender living near the attack scene. Instead, detectives focused on Malkinson, who was jailed in 2004 and released in 2020, but only cleared in 2023.
Forensic Failures and Ongoing Investigations
A jury was told that Quinn's DNA was identified on the victim's clothing in October 2022 after a fresh forensic review. Police and prosecutors had known since 2007 that an unidentified man's DNA was present but did not order further tests. The Criminal Cases Review Commission also declined to order further forensic work and twice refused to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating five former GMP officers on suspicion of gross misconduct, including one under criminal investigation. A sixth serving officer is being investigated for misconduct. A judge-led inquiry will examine why Malkinson was wrongfully convicted.
