Falsely convicted man who spent £500k clearing his name is rejected for compensation

Image source, Stephen Fildes / BBC Image caption, Brian Buckle spent five years in prison for crimes he did not commit By Claire Kendall BBC News Published 8 hours ago A man who was falsely convicted and spent more than five years in prison has said he felt "sick" to learn that his compensation claim has been rejected again. Brian Buckle, from Pembrokeshire, was completely cleared of the sex abuse charges he was jailed for, but the struggle to clear his name cost him £500,000 . The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) rejected Buckle's first appeal for compensation last year, prompting the former Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones to intervene. But he recently discovered that his second appeal has also been rejected. The UK government said it acknowledged the grave impact of miscarriages of justice and was committed to helping people re-build their lives. A long-awaited review of the criminal appeals system in England and Wales, carried out by the Law Commission, said its report on compensation would be published this year. Buckle, from Fishguard, was convicted of historical child sex abuse in 2017 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. His family, including his wife Elaine, vowed to fight for his freedom as they were convinced of his innocence. A five-year legal battle resulted in the Court of Appeal finding Buckle's conviction unsafe and he was immediately released from prison. In a retrial at Swansea Crown Court in 2023, Buckle's barrister Stephen Vullo KC produced new forensic evidence and witnesses, which resulted in a swift unanimous verdict of "not guilty". Image caption, Brian and his wife Elaine, who remained convinced of her husband's innocence But proving his innocence cost Buckle and his family £500,000, and the impact on his mental health has been severe. "I suffer with PTSD, I'm on medication, I'm just always on edge," he said. "As a family it's been really hard, it's the most horrendous thing I've ever had to go through." After Buckle was rejected for miscarriages of justice compensation in 2024, his MP, Ben Lake, hosted a debate in Westminster to raise the issue. Buckle's case was also mentioned in the House of Commons, and former justice minister Davies-Jones said she wanted to restore his faith in the criminal justice system. When the MoJ then agreed to review Buckle's application for compensation, Buckle, Vullo and Lake were hopeful that the support they had received from the government would make a difference. But in April, the MoJ told Buckle that despite a further review, compensation could not be awarded as his claim did not meet the criteria against the statutory test. Confusingly for Buckle, the letter also said: "We would want to highlight that this decision does not affect the fact that Mr Buckle's conviction was quashed, nor does it cast doubt on the outcome of the appeal." 'Not fit for purpose' Lake, who has campaigned for his constituent for the past two years, said the case was one of the clearest injustices he had come across