Victims of historic miscarriages of justice have been informed by the government that they must have “bed and board” costs deducted from their compensation payments for the time they spent wrongfully imprisoned.
Last year, Conservative Justice Secretary Alex Chalk abolished the policy of making such deductions from future compensation payments, following the high-profile case of Andrew Malkinson, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years. However, the issue of past cases remained unresolved.
The government has now stated that those who have already received compensation cannot reclaim money that was previously deducted.
One such individual affected is Paul Blackburn, who was wrongfully convicted of attempted murder at the age of 15 and spent 25 years in prison. The Court of Appeal later found that police had fabricated evidence. When Blackburn received compensation in 2011, over £100,000 was deducted to cover hypothetical rent and food costs he would have incurred as a free man.
Although the policy of deducting such costs was halted last year following public outrage over Malkinson’s case, those involved in historic cases hoped this change would apply to them as well. The government has since informed Blackburn’s solicitors that policy changes are not applied retrospectively, meaning he cannot reclaim previously deducted amounts.
Blackburn has expressed that this decision is “morally wrong” and is considering a legal challenge. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the situation feels like a double punishment, as his compensation was calculated based on the assumption that he would never have worked and would have relied on benefits.
Former Justice Secretary Alex Chalk was still evaluating how to address historic cases and the potential impact on compensation payouts at the time of the July election.
Labour peer Lord Falconer, who served as justice secretary under Tony Blair, has condemned the current situation as an “absolute outrage” and believes the government should reimburse deductions made in settled cases.
