Those who have been wrongly jailed in ‘historic’ miscarriages of justice have been told they must pay the costs for time spent in prison.
Victims such as Andrew Malkinson, who was wrongly imprisoned for 17 years, have been told the costs for ‘bed and board’ will be deducted from their compensation payments.
Malkinson was wrongly jailed for raping a woman while working as a security guard in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2003.
Last year, former Justice Secreatary Alex Chalk got rid of the policy which made deductions from payouts to wrongly imprisoned victims.
But now, the government has said those who already had payouts cannot claim back money that was deducted from them previously.
One such example is Paul Blackburn, who spent 25 years wrongly imprisoned. He received compensation in 2011 for his suffering – but £100,000 had been taken out to cover ‘rent and food costs’ he would have paid if he was a free man.
Blackburn said the £100,000 was calculated on the ‘assumption’ he would have never worked as a free man, and received benefits – which he says is ‘punishing him twice’.
He told BBC Radio 4 he may legally challenge the government: ‘It’s just compounding things isn’t it? Just do the right thing. Just put things right.’
Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds has said it is ‘standard’ that the government doesn’t apply changes to policy retrospectively.
It’s the latest blow to those who have been wrongly imprisoned and are seeking compensation.
Malkinson previously told BBC Breakfast the state ‘have the power to do the right thing but they chose to take their time.’
Trying to access compensation he was ‘encountering nothing but barriers’ because of the law, he told the Guardian.
He also criticised the refusal to adjust the cap on compensation of £1,000,000 ‘despite it not increasing with inflation since it was first introduced in December 2008,’ he wrote.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told Metro.co.uk in a statement: ‘Andrew Malkinson suffered an atrocious miscarriage of justice which is why the Lord Chancellor has launched an inquiry into what happened, has scrapped the ‘saved living costs’ deduction from compensation and is changing legal aid rules so this form of compensation may be discounted from eligibility criteria.
‘Mr Malkinson is free to apply to the Miscarriage of Justice Application Service for compensation and this will not affect or delay his plans to sue the police.’
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