Watchdog Tells CCRC To Significantly And Urgently Improve Casework

The Criminal Cases Review Commission has been told to significantly and urgently improve its investigations to avoid a repeat of failings like those seen in the Andrew Malkinson scandal.

Watchdog Anthony Rogers made the warning after being asked to carry out the first ever independent inspection of the CCRC’s casework amid questions over whether the body, which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, is fit for purpose.

The chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service (HMCPSI) and his team examined a sample of 60 cases and made 34 recommendations to tackle a string of “weaknesses”, delays and inefficiencies.

The CCRC has been heavily criticised for its handling of the Andrew Malkinson case, one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British legal history. The fallout saw both its chief executive and chairwoman resign, with former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird drafted in as interim chairwoman to overhaul the beleaguered organisation.

Publishing its findings on Thursday, the watchdog said the “lack of proactive, effective casework quality assurance is a significant gap that the CCRC must address urgently”.

Mr Rogers told reporters the CCRC can “improve substantially and deliver a much better service” by bringing in the recommendations but changes “won’t guarantee there won’t be another high profile failure”.

With a focus on “quality and review of casework, better case strategy, much more monitoring of case progress, challenging unnecessary work, then cases in the CCRC should not get to the position of the Andrew Malkinson case”, he added.

Mr Malkinson served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit and was knocked back twice by the CCRC until his legal team carried out crucial DNA testing that was then repeated by the commission and led to his release.

A review found that he could have been released 10 years earlier if the CCRC had obtained new DNA evidence as early as 2009, and thousands of cases are being reviewed in the wake of the bungled handling of the case.

The real rapist, Paul Quinn, was handed a 21-year prison sentence last month.

According to the inspection report, the CCRC is dealing with 102 long-running cases and had seen a “sustained rise” in the number of applications over the last few years, with 1,841 made in 2025-2026.

Mr Rogers described the body as one that had a “chequered history” and “cultural issues”, but ultimately was fit for purpose.

Staff were committed to their work and made “sound conclusions” on cases, but needed to avoid “unnecessary lines of inquiry” and pursuing “investigatory routes that are nugatory” – instead focusing on probing “the right things”.

He said: “There have been a number of very high profile failures, which have led to a lot of criticism, but generally I think the CCRC, and in the cases we looked at, got the decision right eventually, and it’s the eventually word that we are concerned about.

“I do think there are cultural issues in the organisation.

“Overall our judgment is they are not a failing organisation.

“There are quite a lot of things they need to do but ultimately they are fit for purpose.”

He said he was “absolutely assured” the recommendations would lead to improvement and he had “every confidence” Dame Vera would bring about the changes needed but he would inspect progress in 18 months’ time.

Describing the CCRC as a “hugely important part of the criminal justice system” and the “place of last resort” for those who have exhausted their appeal options but assert they have been wrongly convicted or sentenced, Dame Vera said it was clear “HMCPSI scrutinised every aspect of our process” as part of the £75,000 inspection she ordered.

“I thank them particularly for the clear focus on casework quality assurance. All casework will be better planned and independently scrutinised from now on,” she added.

Published: 02/07/2026 by Radio NewsHub