Pedestrian Auriol Grey's manslaughter conviction over Cambridgeshire cyclist's death is quashed

• Ravneet Nandra reports from the Royal Courts of Justice in London

The manslaughter conviction of a pedestrian who shouted and waved at a cyclist, causing her to fall into the path of an oncoming car, has been quashed.

Auriol Grey was seen on CCTV shouting at retired midwife Celia Ward to “get off the f****** pavement” in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, causing her to fall into the road.

Grandmother Mrs Ward, 77, of Wyton in Cambridgeshire, died after she was struck by a car in the incident in October 2020.

The Court of Appeal was told the trial went ahead on a “false legal footing”.

Grey, 50, who has cerebral palsy and partial blindness, denied manslaughter but was found guilty after a retrial and was jailed for three years in March 2023.

At a hearing on Wednesday, judges at the Court of Appeal overturned her conviction, ruling it unsafe?

Why did judges think Auriol Grey's conviction was unsafe?

The court heard Grey was charged with unlawful act manslaughter – which requires an unlawful action to take place that caused death.

However, her lawyers told appeal judges that no such “base offence” was ever identified at the trial.

Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mrs Justice Yip and Mrs Justice Farbey, said: “In our judgment, the prosecution case was insufficient even to be left to the jury.”

She continued: “In all the circumstances, we have no hesitation in concluding that the appellant’s conviction for manslaughter is unsafe.”

Adrian Darbishire KC, for Grey, had earlier said: “The trial seems to have proceeded on the basis that some kind of unlawfulness, undefined and unspecified, was sufficient to found this offence of homicide.”

The barrister said there was “entirely no base offence identified in this process”, adding that aspects of common assault were “wholly absent” from the steps given to the jury to follow when deciding if someone is guilty or not guilty.

He added: “The entire trial process and the preparation of such proceeded on a false legal footing.”

The court later heard Grey’s actions had been described as “hostile gesticulation” towards Mrs Ward.

Mr Darbishire said: “Hostile gesticulation is not a crime, otherwise we would have 50,000 football fans each weekend being apprehended.”

The barrister described Grey as having reduced vision and “significant physical impairment” on her right-hand side.

He told judges that the trial jury “needed less focus on hostility on her part” and more focus on “the reasonableness of not standing aside where her standing aside would involve moving to her right-hand side, her unfavoured side to let the cyclist past”.

Mr Darbishire later said that the jury could have said her actions were unnecessary, adding: “That certainly does not make her guilty of the offence of manslaughter … the evidence was clearly insufficient for the charge alleged.”

What did the Crown Prosecution say?

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) opposed the appeal.

Simon Spence KC, for the CPS, said it was accepted that “common assault as the base offence was not identified by name”.

Asked by the appeal judges what actions could have been deemed common assault if it had been identified, Mr Spence said: “The walking towards the cyclist, the gesticulation with her left arm towards the road and the words, ‘get off the f***** pavement’.

“Those words are capable of turning a gesture and nothing more into an unlawful act.”

The barrister said the actions could have caused Mrs Ward to have a fear of immediate unlawful force, ahead of her veering away from Grey and into the road.

He continued: “We say that is capable in law of amounting to an act of unlawful manslaughter.”

What happens now?

After the judges had given their ruling, Mr Spence asked for Ms Grey’s case to be sent back to the crown court for a retrial, which was denied.

Ms Grey's family welcomed the court's decision but added their "thoughts today are also with the Ward family and I am a sure a day doesn’t go by when they don’t remember their tragic loss".

“We are very relieved that Auriol’s prison ordeal is over and we would like to thank for the staff and inmates of HMP Peterborough for the kindness and consideration they have shown over the last year.

“There has been unnecessary and prolonged suffering and vulnerable people like Auriol need better support from the justice system – we hope lessons will be learnt.

“That said, we have been heartened and gratified by the way the legal community has rallied around her and, with no thought to personal gain, worked hard to right these wrongs.

“Auriol’s challenges are not over today.

“After a tough start she has strived over decades to build a normal life without seeking attention and we don’t underestimate the difficulties she will face rebuilding this.

“We would ask the people of Huntingdon and the press to please respect her privacy and give her space during this time.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know