Andrew Malkinson (born 23 January 1966) is a British man who was wrongfully convicted and jailed in 2004 for the rape of a 33-year-old woman in Salford, Greater Manchester.
He was released from prison in 2020 after serving 17 years, still maintaining his innocence, and his conviction was finally quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2023 after DNA evidence proved he was not the attacker.
[10] The CCRC was warned in 2013 about the potential for exculpating DNA evidence after a review of a separate case with a similar fact pattern to Malkinson's, the wrongful imprisonment of Victor Nealon, but this was not acted upon.
[16] After it emerged that Malkinson may have money deducted from his compensation to pay for his prison living costs, senior Conservative MP Sir Bob Neill urged the UK government to change the rule, stating that "Any fair-minded person thinks this is just wrong.
[18] On 6 August, Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk confirmed the rule would be scrapped, describing it as a "common sense change which will ensure victims do not face paying twice for crimes they did not commit".
[13] Edward Garnier, a former Solicitor General, called for a public inquiry and criticised the justice system's handling of the case and particularly the conduct of the CCRC, saying that the decision to reject Malkinson's 2009 appeal on cost–benefit grounds despite the lead of the unknown man's DNA had, in fact, led to significant costs both to Malkinson and to the state in compensation to be paid; further, he suggested that exemplary damages may be due "because of the oppressive and arbitrary behaviour of agents of the state".
[25] On 24 August, the Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, announced the launch of a non-statutory inquiry to investigate the role of the Crown Prosecution Service, Greater Manchester Police and the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
[28] He spent nineteen months after his release living off universal credit before eventually receiving a compensation payment from the Ministry of Justice in February 2025.