Andrew Malkinson: Greater Manchester Police 'institutionally corrupt' after false rape conviction

• Video report by Granada Reports journalist Andrew Misra

A man who was wrongly convicted of rape says the police force who handled his case are "institutionally corrupt".

Andrew Malkinson, 57, was wrongly found guilty of raping a woman in Salford in 2003 and the next year was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years.

He served 10 more years because he maintained his innocence, but his conviction was quashed by senior judges at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday after DNA evidence linking another man to the crime came to light.

The legal charity, Appeal, said it took Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to court twice to obtain evidence which had been withheld from the defence at Mr Malkinson’s original trial.

It also accused the force of unlawfully destroying key evidence connected to the case.

"Whose fault it is...I know. It's Greater Manchester Police, undoubtedly," said Mr Malkinson.

The force apologised to Mr Malkinson, saying he is the victim of "a grave miscarriage of justice" and acknowledged it "does not return the years he has lost".

Mr Malkinson said: "It means less than nothing, it's very hollow and i don't think at all it's genuine, it's probably the only thing they can think of to say because you know, their actions bely this supposed apology.

"They've destroyed absolutely central, pivotal evidence that they knew very well could have easily cleared me, that can't be an accident, to then turn around and say we're sorry on the eleventh hour...it's absolutely meaningless."

Greater Manchester Police offered to meet Mr Malkinson and apologise in person, but he said he had no current intention of doing so.

Following the removal of his conviction, Mr Malkinson now wants a body to oversee evidence in cases like his and many more.

"This was a practiced thing, I saw how they behaved in court, when they appeared to be honest...it was well practiced," he said.

"I don't think my case was the first one, I believe they're institutionally corrupt and it's been that way for a long time."

"I want full police accountability and I want disclosure and evidence, I want a body who takes care of evidence and manages it and keeps a strict control over who has it and the reasons why...thats the soul function the police clearly can't be trusted to keep evidence."

In a full apology to Andrew Malkinson, Greater Manchester Police's Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson said in a public statement: "We are truly sorry to Mr Malkinson that he is the victim of such a grave miscarriage of justice, in being convicted of a crime he did not commit and serving a 17-year custodial sentence.

"Whilst we hope this outcome gives him a long overdue sense of justice, we acknowledge that it does not return the years he has lost. I have offered to meet with him to personally deliver this apology.

"We are also profoundly sorry to the victim of this crime, who not only suffered an horrific trauma 20 years ago, but also relived the experience during a criminal trial, and now may endure additional harm caused by learning that the true offender has not yet been brought to justice.

"We are absolutely committed to following all new lines of enquiry to ensure the right person is held accountable for harming her.

"Whilst this case tragically led to the wrong person being convicted, these instances are thankfully very rare.

"Following an appeal heard by the Court of Appeal in 2006, and two reviews by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), a full and thorough review of the original investigation was carried out by GMP.

"The force has and will continue to fully cooperate with any further reviews of this case and action will be taken if it is found that anything could have been done differently.

"In the vast majority of cases, the processes our officers follow lead to a case being presented to the CPS whereby the suspect and evidence collected were relevant to the crime committed.

"The evidence presented by GMP and the CPS at court between 2003-2004 was subject to a full criminal trial before a jury, who ultimately reached the final guilty verdict.

"Sadly, in this case it is now clear that the wrong person was convicted.

"Due to new forensic evidence, following developments in forensic technologies, there is a live criminal investigation in which a suspect remains on bail. We cannot comment further on that matter at this time.

"We are sorry that in this case, the judicial process failed, and the wrong man was convicted.

"We are determined to work with our colleagues in the CPS to ensure all new evidence is fully examined and that the person truly responsible is convicted and the victim of this horrific crime receives the justice deserved."

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