The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) must urgently improve its investigations to prevent a recurrence of the failings highlighted by the Andrew Malkinson scandal, according to a watchdog report released on Thursday.
Watchdog criticises 'lack of proactive, effective casework quality assurance'
Anthony Rogers, the chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service, conducted an independent inspection of the CCRC's casework. The report found that a "lack of proactive, effective casework quality assurance is a significant gap that the CCRC must address urgently." The watchdog examined a sample of 60 cases and made 34 recommendations to tackle weaknesses, delays, and inefficiencies.
Malkinson case: one of the worst miscarriages of justice
Andrew Malkinson served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. The CCRC rejected his case twice until his legal team conducted crucial DNA testing, which the commission later repeated, leading to his release. A review indicated he could have been freed 10 years earlier if the CCRC had obtained new DNA evidence in 2009. The real rapist, Paul Quinn, received a 21-year sentence last month.
CCRC leadership overhaul and cultural issues
The CCRC faced heavy criticism for its handling of the Malkinson case, prompting the resignation of its chief executive and chair. Former victims' commissioner Dame Vera Baird was appointed interim chair to overhaul the organisation. Rogers described the CCRC as having a "chequered history" and "cultural issues," but ultimately deemed it fit for purpose.
Rogers: improvements needed but no guarantee against future failures
Rogers stated that the CCRC could "improve substantially and deliver a much better service" by implementing the recommendations. However, he cautioned that changes "won't guarantee there won't be another high-profile failure." He emphasised the need for "quality and review of casework, better case strategy, much more monitoring of case progress, challenging unnecessary work."
Rising caseload and long-running cases
The inspection report revealed that the CCRC is handling 102 long-running cases and has seen a "sustained rise" in applications, with 1,841 made in 2025-26. Rogers noted that while staff are committed and make "sound conclusions" on cases, they should avoid "unnecessary lines of inquiry" and focus on probing "the right things."
Rogers said: "There have been a number of very high-profile failures, which have led to a lot of criticism, but generally I think the CCRC, and in the cases we looked at, got the decision right eventually, and it's the 'eventually' word that we are concerned about. I do think there are cultural issues in the organisation. Overall our judgment is they are not a failing organisation. There are quite a lot of things they need to do but ultimately they are fit for purpose."
