Select committee: Justice Committee
Conclusion 5
3rd Report - Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission
Published 23 May 2025
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Chris Webb’s resignation letter to Karen Kneller set out several concerns over the delays to the publication of the Henley report. When asked about the reason why Chris Webb resigned in the evidence session on 29 April, Karen Kneller’s answers did not reflect the content of Chris Webb’s resignation letter. Karen Kneller’s responses indicated that she was aware that he had “hoped the report would have been published earlier”. Karen Kneller has since provided clarification to us as to the intention of her answers to this line of questioning. However, in our view Karen Kneller’s answers misrepresented the true position, which was that Chris Webb had communicated significant concerns over both the causes and consequences of the delays to the publication of the report. (Conclusion, Paragraph 29)
From: Justice Committee, 3rd Report - Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (HC 749), 23 May 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 29 July 2025 (deadline 23 July 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report, agrees on the importance of strong CCRC leadership, and says many conclusions are "rightly for the CCRC and its new interim Chair to consider".
- The Ministry agrees the handling of the Malkinson case and the Henley report has damaged the CCRC's reputation, and says the Lord Chancellor has tasked interim Chair Dame Vera Baird with a review of its operation and leadership.
- On the section 23 disclosure prohibition, the Ministry has asked the interim Chair to consider it and, "if she concludes that this is hampering the effectiveness of the CCRC", to include it in her recommendations.
- On funding, it notes the budget has risen to £10.1 million for 2025/26 and says requests for increases "will be considered" through departmental processes, while it is "right to expect" the CCRC to first use existing funding cost-effectively.
- The CCRC Chair has been added to the list of roles subject to pre-appointment scrutiny, and the department "will consult the Committee" on the permanent Chair's time commitment and other aspects of the recruitment campaign.