Andrew Malkinson hopes to leave UK after 17 years in prison for crime he didn't commit

A man who spent 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of rape has said: "I don't want to be a UK citizen anymore".

Andrew Malkinson, from Grimsby, was found guilty of raping a woman in Greater Manchester in 2003.

The now 57-year-old had spent the previous ten years in the Netherlands and planned to apply for permanent citizenship.

He was arrested while visiting Grimsby.

After being released from prison, Mr Malkinson said he'd hoped to become a Dutch citizen, but Brexit had made it virtually impossible.

He told ITV News: "I was thinking about getting a Dutch passport, but because of Brexit I can't.

"So, having left my home for a holiday, I now find myself having served 20 years in prison and having no rights to live and stay in the Netherlands.

"Having a Dutch passport would make me a much happier man. I don't want to be a UK citizen anymore. Why would I?

"I've been cheated out of so much. Cheated out of my life, cheated out of my nationality. All stolen."

Mr Malkinson's life began to fall apart after his arrest at his family home.

After being told he was accused of rape, he requested an identification parade and DNA tests.

"I just wanted it cleared up as soon as possible," he said, "but the victim picked me out and I just burst into tears. I thought what's going to happen now?"

Mr Malkinson was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years in 2003, but spent an additional ten years in prison because he maintained his innocence.

He said that he feared for his life constantly during his time in Category A prisons, mainly at HMP Frankland in Durham.

He added: "One guy was murdered in a horrific way in the same wing I was on.

"You have to navigate that complicated space while maintaining my humanity and trying not to get stabbed to death.

"It's like if you're on a bus and a lunatic sits next to you and you're thinking 'oh no, I'll get off at the next stop'. But there's no next stop to get off at, there's dangerous people around you all the time."

Mr Malkinson's conviction was quashed by senior judges at the Court of Appeal, on Wednesday 26 July, after DNA evidence linking another man to the crime came to light.

He said: "It's been a whirlwind of elation and relief - a lot of mixed emotions. It hasn't sunk in.

"My mum's very delighted that the news has come out and it's been overturned. But it doesn't take away from all the suffering she experienced.

"No doubt she had a hellish experience for a long, long time. She almost certainly was treated like the mother in denial that her son was a monster which was all false."

He added: "Younger Andy never imagined something like this would happen to him.

"I expected to grow old and live a full and rich life, full of as much joy and happiness as I can muster. But that was all stolen.

"Anything that might have happened to me was removed and there's nothing there but total misery, fear and extreme anxiety."

After Mr Malkinson was exonerated, his mother Trisha Hose said: "Now Andy’s name has been cleared, suddenly in the public eye, I am no longer a deluded mother.

"My son is no longer a monster.

"But what has been done to him cannot be undone. The damage will be with him for the rest of his life and the woman who got attacked has been denied justice, just as my son was."

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