Two men jailed on word of corrupt police officer posthumously cleared

Two men jailed on the word of a corrupt police officer with a history of racism have been posthumously cleared at the Court of Appeal.

British Rail workers Basil Peterkin and Saliah Mehmet died with convictions after British Transport Police officer Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell accused them of theft from a site he later admitted stealing from.

Their convictions were quashed by appeal court judges at a hearing in London on Thursday, after the men’s cases were referred by the body which investigates miscarriages of justice, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).

Ridgewell, was involved in a number of high-profile and controversial cases in the early 1970s.

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

The CCRC previously said it has referred 11 cases which relied on his evidence.

He died of a heart attack in prison in 1982 at the age of 37.

Mr Mehmet, who died in 2021, and Mr Peterkin, who died in 1991, were both sentenced to nine months in prison in 1977, over the theft of parcels from the Bricklayers Arms goods depot in south London, where they worked.

They said the items found in their possession had been planted, and that any admissions said to have been made by them had been fabricated by the police.

In 1980, Ridgewell was jailed for seven years for stealing property worth £364,000 from the same site, while two of his colleagues were sentenced to six and two years, respectively.

The CCRC previously said it has been investigating the “historical racist and corrupt practices” of Ridgewell, whose corruption has led to the convictions of members of the so-called Oval Four and Stockwell Six being overturned in recent years.

Nine other convictions relating to Ridgewell have previously been quashed.

ITV London News approached the British Transport Police for a comment, Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, said: “My colleagues and I are profoundly sorry to all those affected by DS Ridgewell’s atrocious actions and the trauma that victims and their families suffered as a result.

“The identification of DS Ridgewell’s victims has always been important to us and we are pleased that the Criminal Cases Review Commission have identified two further victims.

"We continue to encourage any possible victim or their family to reach out if they feel they have been subject to a miscarriage of justice.”

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…