Select committee: Justice Committee
Conclusion 6
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)
We accept that it was appropriate for the CCRC to provide feedback to Chris Henley KC on the version of the report that had been shared with them. However, it was inappropriate for the CCRC to suggest to Chris Henley KC that his report should not draw broader conclusions on the CCRC as an organisation and its casework based on his analysis of the CCRC’s handling of Andrew Malkinson’s case. The CCRC’s leadership should have accepted that the gravity of the failings in the handling in the Andrew Malkinson case would lead to concerns that it was highly unlikely to be an isolated example. In fact, the extracts from the CCRC’s letter to Chris Henley KC on 11 March 2024 indicate that the leadership were operating under the misguided assumption that the fallout from the report could be contained if they simply accepted the recommendations and referred to the fact that the findings “were limited to this case”. (Conclusion, Paragraph 36)
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.