Judges hear Andrew Malkinson's appeal to clear name over rape case from 2003

A man who spent 17 years in prison for a rape, he says he did not commit, has been subjected to a "historic injustice" the Court of Appeal was told today.

Andrew Malkinson was found guilty of attacking a woman in Salford in 2003 even though, judges heard, there was "no forensic matter" linking him to the crime.

He was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years, but remained in prison for a further 10 years because he insisted he was innocent.

Now three of England's most senior judges will rule whether or not to throw out Mr Malkinson's conviction.

Mr Malkinson's lawyer, Edward Henry KC, told the hearing that new DNA evidence, taken from the victim's fingernails, skin and clothing, did not match the 57-year-old.

"This is a historic case but also a historic injustice," he said.

"DNA testing, which Mr Malkinson had called for since his arrest, now supports his long standing protestations of innocence.

"It was not, and could not have been, [him.]"

The prosecution, at the time, was based on identification evidence which Mr Henry described as having "grave and repeated disclosure failures."

He raised the issue of a photo showing the victim had a broken fingernail, after she scratched her attacker deeply on the cheek. He told the court it was not disclosed during the trial.

Mr Malkinson had no cheek injury, the lawyer said, when he was arrested the day after the woman had been assaulted.

Judges also heard that a key witness was "actively abusing drugs" and picked out Mr Malkinson from an electronic ID parade while the witness was being investigated for unrelated offences.

The defence in the trial, Mr Henry said, were unaware of that. He added that the previous convictions of two witnesses were also not revealed, meaning the jury could not question whether they were "honest."

"There was," he told judges, "ample material the defence could have used to undermine [their] credibility and reliability."

The appeal hearing continues and it is not known whether the court will give a decision today.

The Crown Prosecution Service previously announced they would not contest the appeal and confirmed to the court that they would not seek a retrial.In a statement after the CPS announced their original decision back in May, Mr Malkinson said: "I've suffered incalculably for the last 20 years as a result of my wrongful conviction, and I continue to suffer each day.

"Of course, it is still the Court of Appeal's decision to grant me justice. I sincerely hope they will give serious consideration to the disclosure failures which denied me a fair trial.

"I have always known I am innocent. The police must be made accountable - no one should have to suffer what I've been through."

His case was referred to the Court of Appeal in January by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, after the new evidence was discovered.

Mr Malkinson previously applied twice for his case to be reviewed by the CCRC, but was turned down, eventually being released from prison in December 2020.

Following his release, scientific advancements allowed his legal team to provide new DNA analysis that cast doubt on his conviction to the CCRC.

The organisation then commissioned its own testing which found that DNA from the victim's clothing matched someone else.

In January, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that a man had been arrested and released under investigation in light of the new information, but no decision has been made as to whether he will be charged.

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