A man wrongly jailed for the rape of a woman could have been freed a decade earlier, a review has found.

Andrew Malkinson was convicted of the rape of a woman from Kearsley in Little Hulton and jailed in 2003 despite being innocent.

He was not released until 17 years later, in 2020, and did not see his conviction quashed until another three years later, in summer 2023.

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Mr Malkinson and legal charity Appeal had applied for his case to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2009, but at the conclusion of its review in 2012 the commission refused to order further forensic testing or refer the case for appeal amid concerns over costs.

An independent review by Chris Henley KC, published Thursday, found that searchable DNA evidence exonerating Mr Malkinson had been available since 2007, but – despite this information being passed to the CCRC in 2009 – he remained imprisoned as a named DNA match could not be identified.

Mr Henley’s report said Mr Malkinson had "suffed atrocious injustice" and found that the CCRC  "missed opportunities" which could have resolved the case "perhaps 10 years sooner".

The report also revealed that the body had even considered rejecting requests for a referral to the Court of Appeal for a third time.

Making nine recommendations for improvement, Mr Henley said: “The CCRC failed him. It required Appeal to obtain the new DNA evidence that ultimately resulted in the further work that led to the referral by the CCRC. It would not have happened otherwise.

“The opportunity to have this case referred in 2009 was missed, and a further opportunity to look again at the DNA evidence when the second application was received in 2018 was not taken.”

Referring to Appeal’s later requests to re-test samples in 2019, he said: “I have seen nothing to persuade me that the CCRC would have independently considered that retesting was justified or had any prospect of producing anything new which might call into question the safety of the conviction.”

The review also suggested that the CCRC should be "provided with more resources by government" as its annual caseload has increased from 955 in 2011/12 to being on course to breach 1,600 this year.

Mr Malkinson said: “This report lays bare how the CCRC obstructed my fight for justice and cost me an extra decade wrongly imprisoned.

“The finding that in 2022 the CCRC was considering rejecting my case for a third time, despite the compelling DNA evidence presented by my legal team, shows that the body is biased through and through. It needs to be torn down and completely rebuilt.

“If Helen Pitcher and her leadership team won’t resign after a scathing report like this, they should be sacked.”

James Burley, who led legal charity Appeal’s investigation into Mr Malkinson’s case, said the CCRC was a “broken safety net” as he branded the report “utterly damning”.

“The new Justice Secretary should bring in a fresh leadership team at the CCRC that is serious about rooting out wrongful convictions”, he added.

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In April, the CCRC’s chairman offered an "unreserved apology".

CCRC chairman Helen Pitcher OBE said: “Mr Henley’s report makes sobering reading, and it is clear from his findings that the Commission failed Mr Malkinson.

“For this, I am deeply sorry and wish to offer my sincere regret and an unreserved apology on behalf of the Commission.

“I want to assure everyone of our commitment to learn from this. Mr Henley's report includes nine recommendations, and the Commission has already begun work to implement them.

“Nobody can begin to imagine the devastating impact that this wrongful conviction has had on Mr Malkinson’s life, and I am deeply sorry for the additional harm caused by our handling of the case.

“On behalf of the Commission, I offer my deepest regret.”

A separate inquiry ordered by the previous government into Mr Malkinson’s case is ongoing.

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.