Labour has announced an increase in maximum pay-outs to victims of miscarriages of justice – but the changes do not go far enough, lawyers have warned.
The current cap on compensation payments for people wrongly jailed for 10 years or more will rise by £300,000 to £1.3million, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed today.
The ceiling on payments to those wrongly jailed for up to 10 years will also rise by 30 per cent to £650,000.
The increase is likely to mean that Peter Sullivan – whose conviction was quashed in May for a murder he did not commit – will now be due a higher pay-out.
In one of Britain’s worst miscarriages of justice Mr Sullivan spent 38 years behind bars before judges overturned his conviction for the 1986 murder of 21-year-old florist Diane Sindall.
Erroneously dubbed the ‘Beast of Birkenhead’ after the brutal killing, Mr Sullivan had long protested his innocence.
The sheer length of his wrongful jail term means he is expected to be awarded a sum to the limit of the new cap.
In another high-profile case, Andrew Malkinson was wrongly jailed for rape for 17 years and finally freed two years ago.
Months after his release he had received no pay-out and described himself as ‘broke’ and ‘living in a tent’.
In February it emerged Mr Malkinson had received a ‘significant’ six-figure interim pay-out – but his final application is yet to be resolved.
Innocent Peter Sullivan – whose conviction was quashed in May for a murder he did not commit – will now be due a higher pay-out after serving 38 years in jail
Solicitor Toby Wilton, who is representing Mr Malkinson in his compensation claim, said Ms Mahmood’s announcement ‘does not go nearly far enough’.
‘The current maximum cap on compensation of £1million was introduced in 2008,’ Mr Wilton said.
‘Before that, compensation was not capped at all and applicants received compensation broadly in line with what they would receive in a court of law.
Andrew Malkinson was wrongly incarcerated for 17 years for a crime he did not commit
‘The government should return to this system, removing the arbitrary cap which unfairly penalises those who like Andrew Malkinson have suffered the longest lasting and most serious miscarriages of justice.
‘While this proposal is welcome, it does not go nearly far enough.’
Andrew Malkinson was freed nearly two years ago but is still waiting for his final compensation payment to be agreed
He added: ‘The Government and Parliament should think again.
‘A 30 per cent increase in the cap, whilst welcome, does not come close to addressing this unfairness.
‘Increased by RPI inflation, the measure the courts use to uprate compensation amounts, £1million in 2008 would be closer to £2million today.’
Lawyer Sarah Myatt speaking to the media outside the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, in May after Peter Sullivan, who spent 38 years in prison for the murder of Diane Sindall in 1986, had his conviction quashed at the Court of Appeal
Announcing the changes, Ms Mahmood said: ‘Fairness is the ideal that underpins our justice system.
‘Where it has failed to meet that ideal, victims of devastating miscarriages of justice must be able to rebuild their lives.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a 30 per cent increase in the cap on compensation payments to those wrongfully jailed due to a miscarriage of justice
‘This uplift will ensure victims are compensated for the crimes they did not commit and the years they cannot get back.’
The exact amount of compensation is decided by an independent assessor.
Applications must be made within two years of being pardoned or having a conviction quashed as a result of a newly-discovered fact.
