Andrew Malkinson's rape conviction quashed after 20-year fight

A man who served 17 years in prison for a rape he always said he did not commit has had his conviction quashed.

Andrew Malkinson was jailed in 2004 for the attack in Salford despite no DNA evidence linking him to the crime.

The 57-year-old’s case was referred to the Court of Appeal in January after new evidence emerged pointing to another potential suspect.

Lord Justice Holroyd has ruled to overturn the decision more than 20 years on.

Mr Malkinson was found guilty of raping a woman following a trial in 2003 and sentenced to life with a minimum term of seven years.

However, he served a further 10 years in jail after his tariff expired.

His barrister Edward Henry KC told the court this was because Mr Malkinson would never “falsely confess to abhorrent crimes which he did not commit”.

Mr Malkinson previously applied twice for his case to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission but he was turned down, eventually being released from prison in December 2020.

At the time of his trial, there was no DNA evidence linking him to the crime and the prosecution’s case against him was based solely on identification evidence.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) later conceded Mr Malkinson’s conviction was unsafe because new DNA evidence pointed to another man, who the court ordered can only be identified as Mr B.

The CPS and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed in May they would not contest a fresh appeal.

Opening the appeal earlier, Mr Henry said: “This is the most troubling case which may have wide implications for the administration of criminal justice.

“This is a historic case – and a historic injustice.

“Grave failures that must lie at the door of GMP that wholly undermined a fair trial.”

“No-one else should have to go through what Mr Malkinson has endured.”

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