Manchester Man wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years still seeking compensation

A man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years has said he'll be waiting "some time" for compensation and no longer feels like Britain is his home.

Andrew Malkinson was wrongfully convicted in 2003 for raping a woman in Little Hulton, in Salford. Despite him not fitting the description given by witnesses, he was given a life sentence and spent 17 years in prison before new evidence proved his innocence.

Andrew has described going through the trial, his time in prison, and his successful appeal in July 2023 as an "emotional rollercoaster" and said he still has "anger to deal with".

During his time in prison, he twice applied for his case to be referred for appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) but was turned down on both occasions.

Recalling his time in prison, Andrew said that he learnt “a lot about my own resilience” during his time behind bars and he was “still getting used to what’s happened”.

He said: “I have my down days, I get depressed. I’ve got a bit of anger to deal with.

“You can’t go through something like that and not be furious.

“I was angry all the time in prison but I had to park it and process it slowly somehow in my own way. It’s a real emotional rollercoaster."

Andrew also discussed how being diagnosed with type one diabetes while in jail was “another cross to bear” and how he devised “coping strategies” but never gave up hope despite the experience taking a “massive toll”.

Andrew eventually had his 2003 conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal in July after new DNA evidence potentially linking another man to the crime was identified.

The 57-year-old has continued to call for reforms that would prevent others from being wrongfully convicted, and is still waiting for compensation.

A senior judge is now leading an independent inquiry to examine how Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the CCRC handled the case.

Earlier this year Andrew branded a Greater Manchester Police apology in the wake of the ruling “meaningless”.

On Friday he said further apologies from other bodies “won’t change what has already happened but it will show there is some contrition”.

Andrew has described himself as being “kidnapped by the state".

He now prefers to spend his time abroad and travelling because Britain does not feel like home to him. He said he had been betrayed “very badly” and was made to “feel like a pariah”.

After the outrage sparked by the miscarriage of justice in Mr Malkinson’s case, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk abandoned rules which saw wrongly convicted people having prison living costs deducted from their compensation payments with immediate effect.

He later said he was “considering” backdating the reforms.

Andrew said the policy was still “grossly unfair – it’s not retrospective” as he described how some people who were wrongfully convicted were “deeply out of pocket” by tens of thousands of pounds.

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