§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the safety of the conviction in the Carl Bridgewater trial; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. JackSince 1982 there have been about 200 representations concerning the safety of these convictions from Members of Parliament and members of the public. In 1987, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) referred the cases of Michael Hickey, Vincent Hickey and James Robinson to the Court of Appeal. In 1989, the court concluded that the verdicts were safe and satisfactory.
In June 1991, solicitors acting on behalf of the families of the convicted men submitted a petition to the Secretary of State seeking a further intervention in the case. It was decided that further inquiries should be made and, at the request of the chief constable of Staffordshire, a senior officer from the Merseyside police is currently investigating these representations.