Clarke tightens criminal compensation rules

Charles Clarke announces major changes to criminal compensation scheme

Wednesday, 19, Apr 2006 12:00

People who overturn their conviction in their first appeal will no longer be entitled to compensation under new guidelines announced today.

Those who win their appeal after several attempts or long after the original trial on the basis of new evidence will still be eligible, but their payouts will be capped at £500,000.

Home secretary Charles Clarke said the changes, which will come into effect immediately, would save £5 million a year, and ensure the systems for compensating victims of miscarriage of justice and victims of crime were equal.

He also announced an "urgent review" into the test used by the court of appeal to decide whether to quash a conviction, looking specifically at what level of error in the original trial could be classed as a miscarriage of justice.

"The changes I have announced today will create a fairer, simpler and speedier system for compensating miscarriages of justice," Mr Clarke said.

The government has a statutory obligation under United Nations law to pay victims of miscarriage of justice compensation, where their conviction was quashed on appeal because of a "new or newly discovered fact".

For the past 20 years, the government has also been operating a discretionary scheme, which pays out to those successfully appealing against their conviction within a set time, or those who suffered loss of earnings or other problems while being held in custody waiting for the trial, even if they were not then convicted.

Last year, £6 million was paid out under the statutory scheme, but while the discretionary scheme cost £2 million a year, it only benefited between five and ten applicants. Mr Clarke today said it was "confusing and anomalous" and should no longer continue.

The changes mean that the overturning of convictions within a set period of time after the original trial will be considered a normal part of the criminal justice process, and not warrant any special compensation.

However, shadow home secretary David Davis insisted this was wrong, warning: "This seems an extraordinary reflection of the values of this government. It is a long standing principle that compensation should be paid to those who have been wrongly imprisoned.

"Both victims of crime and those who have suffered a miscarriage of justice should be compensated in a fair fashion that reflects the impact of their suffering. In the case of a miscarriage, the need is overwhelming because it is the state that instigated proceedings in the first place."

Mr Clarke also today announced introduced time limits within which all applications for compensation could be made, and said he would soon be bringing forward legislation to further limit payments made to people with other serious criminal convictions.