Brian Buckle spent more than five years in prison before the courts cleared him completely. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has now turned down his compensation claim for a second time.
Mr Buckle’s conviction for historical child sex abuse came in 2017, along with a 15-year prison sentence. His family believed he was innocent and promised to fight for his freedom. A legal battle lasting five years followed. In the end, the Court of Appeal found the conviction unsafe, and he left prison straight away.
His case then went to a retrial at Swansea Crown Court in 2023. There, his barrister, Stephen Vullo KC, put forward new forensic evidence and new witnesses. The outcome was a swift, unanimous verdict of not guilty.
Clearing his name cost Mr Buckle and his family £500,000. The ordeal also took a severe toll on his mental health.
The MoJ first rejected his application for miscarriage of justice compensation in 2024. His MP, Ben Lake, responded by holding a debate in Westminster on the issue. The case also came up in the House of Commons. Alex Davies-Jones, then a justice minister, intervened and said she wanted to restore faith in the criminal justice system.
The department then agreed to look at the application again. Mr Buckle’s supporters hoped that the backing they had received from the Government would change the result. In April this year, however, the MoJ told him that the further review had not altered its position. It said his claim did not meet the criteria of the statutory test, so it could not award compensation.
Mr Lake has campaigned for his constituent for the past two years. In nine years as an MP, he said, he had seen few injustices as clear as this one. He said he was “so disappointed” by the decision. He had hoped the review would lead to a payment “for what the state has done to Brian”.
Ms Davies-Jones said she was deeply sorry to learn that the application had failed again. She also recognised that the case raised wider questions about the compensation scheme.
The Law Commission has carried out a long-awaited review of the criminal appeals system in England and Wales. That review should produce a report on compensation this year.
The Government said it recognised the grave impact of miscarriages of justice. It added that it was committed to helping those affected rebuild their lives. The MoJ said it would weigh the Law Commission’s findings before deciding whether to act in this area.
