Latest news with #BrianBuckle
Wales Online
24-05-2025
- Wales Online
He became a hated man as a judge jailed him for 32 years. But the court didn't know one thing
He became a hated man as a judge jailed him for 32 years. But the court didn't know one thing It took Brian Buckle five years and cost him £500,000 before he was able to clear his name Brian spent five years in prison for a crime he didn't commit (Image: John Myers ) As he rose to his feet, two prison guards stood either side of him, Brian Buckle heard the word 'guilty' uttered from the mouth of a juror stood at the opposite side of a courtroom. That single word, reiterated 15 more times, made him a hated man, convicted of sex crimes against a child and led to him being given a 32-year jail sentence. The then 45-year-old was told he wouldn't be released until he was 60. Over the next five years and four months, he spent time in two prisons, including two years of the pandemic where he was allowed no visitors. He missed his daughter's 18th and 21st birthdays, and wasn't able to attend family funerals, or celebrations. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here When he contracted Covid in 2020, he was treated in a hospital miles away from his home in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. His wife Elaine could only be updated by phone calls from the prison governor who told her her husband was fighting for his life, and his chances of survival were 50/50. Yet Brian remained determined to prove his innocence. And throughout his time behind bars, his family waged a legal battle that culminated in a Court of Appeal in 2022 hearing at which his conviction was unsafe. A newly discovered piece of forensic evidence had been discovered and new witnesses came forward that saw the original conviction quashed. He then faced a retrial and after three weeks a jury found him not guilty of all charges. Article continues below The battle to prove his innocence, and secure his freedom, has cost Brian and his family just shy of £500,000. He now has PTSD and admits struggling to cope, and says he is no longer the same person. And that battle isn't over, because now he is fighting for compensation, for him, but for other victims of miscarriages of justice. More than 40,000 people have signed his petition. The Ministry of Justice rejected his application for compensation in a letter. It said it accepted Brian was innocent of the sexual offences he had been wrongly imprisoned for, but said he wasn't entitled to compensation as that the new fact that led to his original conviction being quashed did not prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that he had not committed the crimes. He finds himself trapped in a situation where his innocence has been formally declared in a court of law but the Government refuses him compensation for the five years he wrongly spent behind bars because it says he hasn't proven himself innocent. As with all cases involving alleged sexual offences, the person who made the allegation against him receives lifelong anonymity which means some details of his story cannot be reported. Brian has been determined to prove his innocence (Image: John Myers ) Brian's story began when he was dealing with police in relation to another incident. During that process, he was told it wasn't an assault or theft allegation that police were interested in, but that he had been accused of sexually assaulting a child. At the time his ordeal began, Brian was working as a construction manager for Thames Water commuting from his home in Fishguard to London in the early hours of Monday, returning home late on a Friday night. Weekends were centred around family life, watching Swansea City, family barbecues and walks on the beach. It was May 25, 2015, a Bank Holiday Monday, when he first interacted with the police about a separate incident. The allegation involved a fight, and that night, police arrived to tell him he'd been accused of assault - something he strenuously denied and believed would be dismissed as soon as any investigation was carried out. He was taken to Haverfordwest police station where he was kept in custody for more than 24 hours. Kept in a cell, every emotion possible was going through his head. "Everything's just going through your head like 'what's going on', 'what's happening'. You're crying and upset and everything's going through your head," he recalls. When he was interviewed, he believed that would end the matter. A few weeks later, while travelling back from London, police searched his home, accusing him of theft. A further call came when he was asked to go to Cardigan police station on a Saturday morning. Instead of being interviewed about the assault or theft, he was then told he was being questioned about allegations of historic sexual assault involving a child. Eventually released without charge pending further investigations but knew he had to go home and tell Elaine. As he spoke, "my head was pumping, heart pounding," she said. "At that time, even though it was horrible thing because you know you're innocent, you just think, surely they can see that," Brian said. They kept the allegation private, Elaine telling her sister, but Brian telling no-one else. "Brian was just embarrassed," said Elaine. He remained on bail, and then in summer 2015 he was told to attend the police station again and DNA evidence was presented to him. "And I sat there and at that point I thought, 'I was in a is crazy'." He went home and told Elaine. All she remembers is the quiet. "I know I could have shouted and balled but I was just quiet. I just felt physically sick, I was crying. I said 'how do you explain this Brian?'." She drove to her friend's house, conflicted between knowing her husband, but not understanding how his DNA had been found. "We were just trying to analyse everything, I couldn't imagine Brian going to do that. I've been with him all these years. He'd never given me any doubt, he's just not like that," she said. Later that afternoon, Elaine returned to their family and told him: "I don't want to not believe you because I can't get it in my head you could do this. But there is no explanation." It put an obvious, and serious strain on their relationship. Brian, still working in London, would call home up to six times a day, and she didn't want to speak to him. At one point she asked him to leave, but he refused, because he wanted to maintain his family life with their daughter, Georgia, then 14. "As much as Elaine couldn't process it, I couldn't process it myself. I couldn't get it in my head 'how'.' said Brian. Brian believed the DNA evidence had been planted. That was, Brian said, a 'kick in the teeth'. He remained on bail for two years and appeared at Swansea Crown Court for his trial on May 2, 2017. Being put in the dock was, he said, when it became real. "It's still wrong because you're not a guilty person. You're an innocent person, and you shouldn't be in a glass box unless you're in. You just think I've come off the street, and it feels just wrong". Elaine admits still being on the fence at this point. Their relationship was improving, but she still had her doubts. Brian was trying to put a front up that everything was going to be ok when, and if, it got to trial. "I can't say that I was not confident because I believed in the justice system. I knew I was telling the truth," he said. "When I was in there, I thought, 'there's no way I can lose this', as long as it's done properly,' he said. When the prosecutor opened the case, telling the jury the facts, he said it felt like it wasn't his case she was talking about. 'I thought they were talking about somebody else because she made me out to be this prolific sexual predator monster,' he said. "I said to my barrister, 'has she got the right case?''" Then I thought "s***, I'm in trouble here now. If I was in the jury I would have found me guilty." The five-day trial ended up lasting three-and-a-half days, covering 16 charges. With the jury unable to reach a verdict, the judge gave a majority ruling. When a verdict came, he returned to the courtroom and he was told he was guilty on each count. "Everything just went blank, basically. It's like you see in the films, I didn't know what was going on," he said. He asked one of the officers "what's happening?" and he was told "you're coming with us". Brian was then taken, for the first time, into the holding cell, waiting to be processed for his transfer to prison. At that time, he was strip searched. Brian was taken to Parc prison where the groups of newly-arrived prisoners were separated. He was put with those classed as vulnerable people, sex offenders, any police officers and youths. "They all know who you are because they've already segregated you. They're saying 'there's the n****s'. He sat at a table and cried. A prison officer pulled him out and Brian told him he'd never been in prison before and the response was that the easy route was to 'do as you're told". "I said I'd do as I was told, I'd do whatever I had to do," said Brian. Everything was taken from him, he was strip searched, and he was taken to a "constant watch" cell. He couldn't contact his family as he didn't have any access to the account needed to use phones, but a prison officer called Elaine to tell her he was ok. While he could leave his cell, he didn't want to. He took his meals back to his cell. "I couldn't cope with the noise," he said. "The guards kept opening them and I kept shutting them". "I just didn't want to talk to anyone," he said. He said that as he returned to court he had no idea what sort of sentence he could be facing. On May 30, 2017, he was told he had a total 33 year sentence. His release date was in 2032 when he would be 60. He was jailed aged 45. For Elaine, it was overwhelming. "I felt sick," she said. Brian was returned to Parc after the sentencing, keeping himself busy, initially getting a job in carpentry, making bird boxes but then moving to catering stores. "You survive as best you can," said Brian. "There's fights every day, people get raped in there by other men in the showers. There's all sorts, bullying because they borrowed stuff and not pay it back. It's stuff I've never even dreamt of. It is a dangerous place to be. You have to turn into somebody else and you have to make sure you can look after yourself so I was always down the gym. It does turn you into a different person." He was first allowed visitors around six weeks from the verdict. Outside, Elaine remained living in Fishguard, and worried about what the reaction would be. "We live in a small town, and it could have gone both ways. I never had any hassle from anyone, but I'd already put my defences up when he was sentenced. I went up to the local supermarket, ready to fight for my husband.' Elaine with Brian (Image: John Myers ) Her way of coping was to explain to people that if they thought he was guilty, they couldn't be friends. In reality, she lost a couple, but that was all. Over the period of his imprisonment, his wife Elaine, as well as his mum and aunt, turned detectives themselves. The law books they studied are still on the living room bookshelf, Elaine produces file after file of paperwork, and has photocopies of each piece of evidence they painstakingly asked for. Each covered in post it notes with annotations of the questions they provoked. Even discussing the idea of pursuing an appeal, Brian said, took him a while. Elaine researched barristers, and she found Stephen Vullo KC, who had represented Rolf Harris. "We wanted the best," Elaine said. The initial legal fees for his trial had cost £20,000 but it was £30,000 for the high-profile barrister to look at the papers to see if he would take it on. Initially, he refused saying there were no legal issues with the trial or the judge's findings, but Elaine fought her corner. "I said 'No, you don't know Brian, I do, he's innocent'," she said. "I said, 'if you won't help us, I'll find a way because I know he's innocent', If he wasn't I wouldn't be sticking by him and certainly wouldn't be spending our money'." By now, Elaine - who had bought all the transcripts from the proceedings to study - fully believed her husband was innocent. Mr Vullo told Elaine her only chance was to look at forensics, and he referred her to a solicitor and a private investigator. But their savings were now dwindling. Brian, in prison, was asking for paperwork to be sent in for him to read. 'It just plays on your mind, 24/7,' she said. His supporters were going through the evidence, line by line, cross referencing what was said in court and what didn't tally with evidence. A year passed before they were able to engage Mr Vullo, something that was hard for Brian. "When you're in prison, it seems longer and longer again, because you just want news. 'Why aren't they just dealing with my case?'" he said. At this point - in 2018 - Brian believed he had proved what he had said all along was true by having evidence forensically tested. "It's always been there, since 2017 when they did the first test," he said. "When I phoned Elaine and she said they'd found it, I was crying. I thought I was coming home," he said. They turned to a forensics expert in America, the world leader in the field who wrote a 7,000 page report. Between that report and other evidence, an appeal was prepared, but then the pandemic hit, causing delays, not only in how long evidence was taking to be checked, or the legal process, but because Brian got Covid too, in prison. He was now serving his sentence in Stafford, but due to restrictions in prisons due to Covid, he wasn't able to see Elaine for two years, and they were only able to speak via videolink. In some ways, the restrictions everyone else was facing helped him. "What I was going through, the emotions of the family was that they were living their lives, going to the beach for the weekends, barbecues and parties. But when Covid hit, life had stopped outside too. It helped with prison life a bit," he said. But when he caught Covid he had to be transferred to hospital where he was put on a ventilator. The prison governor called Elaine to tell her that Brian had a 50/50 chance. He was just a few hours away from being put into an induced coma, his wife was told. Recovery took time, but finally they were in a position to submit appeal paperwork. The appeal went to a first judge in 2021, looking for grounds to continue the legal appeal process, but it was refused. He was notified by letter, something he described as a "huge kick in the teeth". His barrister sought a hearing seeking leave to hear the new evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice, on September 1, 2022. Elaine went to Stafford to see him the day before his appeal in London. While deciding how to travel to there, and then to London the following day for the hearing, the couple's daughter Georgia told her mum to drive and leave the car at the prison telling her "you can pick Dad up on the way back". "We were laughing about it," Brian said, because they had asked their barrister what the best they could hope for from the hearing. He'd told them the best case scenario was 'a foot through the door for the judges to say we'll get the prosecution back and hear it'. "I thought, 'is that it?'" "It felt like we were fighting every single step," he said. Brian appeared via video link from Stafford, but Elaine, his mum and aunt were in London in person. Brian said: "I could see the prosecutor from my trial there, and I thought 'what the hell is she doing there?'. I thought she was there to scupper it all. But the judges entered the court and almost as soon as Brian's barrister rose to his feet, they said they didn't need to hear from him. I thought it had all been shot down," said Brian. The trio of judges, it emerged, had requested the prosecutor to be there. She rose and apologised on behalf of the CPS, the trial judge and Brian's original barrister. "I was sitting there and couldn't believe what I was hearing," he said. He was then told he had been wrongly convicted. "I didn't realise what he was trying to say to me really," he said. Breaking down as recalls what happened next, he was told "you'll be going home within the hour from prison". The clerk stood and asked if he had understood - repeating that a letter would be sent to the prison ordering his release. "I couldn't believe it because all this time I'd been telling the truth. I'd had thoughts about committing suicide because even though you know you're innocent, you just think, 'how much can you take?'" Brian said. His barrister spoke to him immediately afterwards on videolink. As Brian cried, his barrister said he had never seen such a thing happen in his 26 years. A prison officer then took Brian back to his cell and - to show how rarely such a release comes about - officers on the wing had to get advice about whether they should lock his door while he gathered his belongings. By 12.50pm he was in reception being processed for his release, having left most of the things he had accrued there, but with some to take back with him. There was no formal paperwork ready, and he had to be discharged with the money from his account - but that wasn't ready either, officers had to go to a bank to get it for him because the hour's notice hadn't been long enough to prepare a cheque. He had saved the £1,000 during his five years and four months in prison because he said he wanted to know when he left, he would be able to treat his family. "When I was in there I was on the breadline because I wanted to treat my family when I come out as a little thank you for the sort of thing for everything they'd done for me," he said. Leaving the prison, it was hugely overwhelming, officers gave him handshakes, one even insisted on pushing his trolley of belongings through the gate. "It was a million miles an hour," he said. Brian and Elaine back home in Fishguard (Image: John Myers ) They stopped in the Three Horseshoes in Berriew near Welshpool to eat as they made their way back to Pembrokeshire. Prison food was lukewarm at best, he said, and he would buy tinned goods from the canteen. His first meal of freedom - a salmon risotto - burnt his mouth because it was too hot. Already how much he had to adjust to was becoming clear. "I was really anxious with so many people there because I've changed as a person. I was always looking over my shoulder, I always sit with my back to the wall because I want to see who is coming," he said. Even seeing his daughter Georgia when he returned home for the first time overwhelmed him. He left prison knowing the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had seven days to decide if they would seek a retrial. By now the legal process had cost around £320,000, a combination of savings, inheritances, and Elaine's dad sold his house which all went to the fund. After being told the CPS wanted a retrial, they steeled themselves for the new year and tried to have an almighty Christmas as a family, not knowing what the years to come would look like. At the end of the festive period they packed up their decorations, and Brian wrote himself a note, putting it in with a Santa statue he packed away. The note read: "I hope to see you next Christmas, Father Christmas". He again had to go through the process, a magistrates hearing, plea hearing and a trial being set, which was to be under the same judge as before and with the same prosecutor. His retrial lasted three weeks and the jury came back within an hour finding him not guilty on all counts. On May 19, 2023, he left Swansea Crown Court knowing it was over. But he doesn't believe he will ever recover, but does want to rebuild. He still dreams about prison, trying to find someone to tell that he is innocent, the vivid noises of keys and alarms echoing in his ears. He has PTSD. Elaine said: "My husband, Brian Buckle went to prison. I've got like a doppelganger back but with a different head process. He's different." Brian agrees. "I'm very defensive. If we're out, I'm very careful. That's what I want to rebuild." Asked if he ever thinks he will get his life back, Brian said: "I don't think so. It will always be there. You can move on, rebuild and live a life and try and get everything together but this will go to the grave with me. Not just me, Elaine, Georgia and my mum,' he said. But, he said, he does not want to ever forget there are genuine victims out there. However, false accusers - a cause the couple are now engaged in through groups and social media - take away from those genuine stories. They spent just shy of £500,000 on Brian's legal battle, and are not, under the current law, entitled to any compensation. He had planned to retire at 55 with a private pension because he was unable to make any contributions following his imprisonment. His state pension is now also in jeopardy, as he was unable to make any national insurance contributions for more than five years. In 2014, there was a law change which most would never have registered, said that if a victim of a miscarriage of justice in England and Wales wanted compensation, they must not only be cleared, but also demonstrate they are innocent. About 93% of applications for compensation have been rejected by the Ministry of Justice since 2016, government figures show. When he first applied for compensation it took a year for him to receive a reply. The assessor - who had never spoken to him or his lawyers - said he wasn't eligible for a pay-out because there was not enough proof that he had hadn't carried out the offences. "Having carefully considered the particular circumstances of the reversing of your conviction, I do not consider your case demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that you did not commit the offences for which you were convicted," the letter read. Brian's MP, Ceredigion Preseli's Ben Lake has led a debate on the issue of compensation for victims of miscarriage of justice in Westminster saying the law as it stands places "an almost impossible burden on the applicant". "They are required to find a new fact that shows beyond reasonable doubt that they did not commit the offence for which they have been acquitted. They are required to prove that they are innocent of a crime for which they have already been exonerated. "The Cardiff Three, the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six—would receive compensation if they applied under the scheme today," the Plaid Cymru MP said. "If it is the Government's intention to ensure that true victims of miscarriages of justice are fairly compensated, asking the trial jury to make the decision must be the fairest way. It is difficult to see any rational argument against it," he said. At the debate, government justice minister Alex Davies-Jones, and Pontypridd MP, responded, saying the 93% refusal rate quoted does not 'necessarily provide the full picture' because that includes applications from people who are not eligible. "Reasons for that may include that they had their conviction overturned simply following an in-time appeal, or that they had not had their conviction overturned at all; in some cases, there is no criminal conviction in the first place," she said. She told the Westminster Hall debate that from April 2018 to April 2024, there were 591 applications received, but only 133 were eligible for full consideration. Of those,39 people have successfully been awarded their share of £2.4 million. "We believe it is right that there should be a process by which eligibility for compensation from the government should be assessed. That will ensure that taxpayers' money is used appropriately and effectively. The test is designed so that only those who can demonstrate that their conviction has been reversed on the basis of a new or newly discovered fact that shows beyond reasonable doubt that they did not commit the offence can receive compensation from the state," she said. For the Buckle family, compensation would help them rebuild their lives. "I need proper mental health help," said Brian. "To get proper help you need money," he said. He missed his daughter's 18th and 21st birthdays in prison, and learning to drive. 'I should have been home for them, the government has deprived me of that," said Brian. If we get the money or whatever, you can never get away from the fact that I've been to prison even as much therapy you ever have won't change that." Elaine can see how emotional he is now, since his release. Not just for what he went through, but what his family endured. "I had five and a half years in prison and I reckon for all but two months of that I cried on the phone every day," said Brian. He will, he says, continue to have to fight for himself and others to get compensation. "I would feel guilty if I did stop. What I've been through I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. What I've been through is horrendous." Article continues below The CPS has been approached for a comment.
The Irish Sun
16-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
I was wrongly jailed for 5 years after being accused of rape I DIDN'T commit – I spent £500k but didn't get a penny back
A MAN who was wrongly jailed for five years spent £5000,000 to prove his innocence - and was told he won't receive compensation. Brian Buckle, 53, was wrongly convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a child in 2017. Advertisement 4 Brian Buckle wrongly spent five years in prison before being aquitted Credit: BBC 4 The news comes just days after Peter Sullivan was freed after being wrongly convicted of the murder of Diane Sindall Credit: Supplied 4 Diane was murdered in 1986 in a killing which was attributed to the "Beast of Birkinhead" Credit: Mercury Press Agency He was found guilty of 16 counts of historical child sex abuse and was sentenced to 15 years. After a lengthy legal battle, spending £500,000 and five years in prison, Brian was able to get a retrial got all the charges dropped. Despite the horrific emotional and financial toll, Brian was told that he was not entitled to a single penny. He told Advertisement Read more on News 'They still say that I'm not innocent enough to get compensation, yet the letter I had off them says I am innocent and remain innocent of all charges.' The Ministry of Justice told Brian that in order to receive compensation, he would need to "prove it beyond reasonable doubt." His innocence was acknowledged by the ministerial department, but it claims evidence wasn't solid enough for him to have any sort of financial aid. The law was changed in 2014 to state that if somebody has faced a miscarriage of justice in the UK, they cannot just have the charges dropped but must also prove they are innocent. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Brian has slammed the system as 'unfair and draconian.' Fresh forensic evidence presented at his retrial led the jury to acquit him in less than an hour. Man jailed 38yrs ago for beating florist to death CLEARED after DNA bombshell DNA used to put him in prison was found to be flawed, and all the counts were dropped. However, Brian is still unable to prove his innocence beyond reasonable doubt. Advertisement He and his family remain thousands of pounds out of pocket and have started a petition to receive compensation. "My wife's inheritance has been spent, and I lost a well-paid job that I had done for 16 years prior to my arrest," Brian continued. "I missed my daughter's 18th and 21st birthdays and so much more. "My life has been devastated by what has happened to me and the effects, including PTSD exist to this day. Advertisement 4 Sullivan is now in line for a £1million payout Credit: SWNS "I do not think what has happened to me is fair. "I am not seeking millions and in fact the compensation paid is relatively small - even if awarded it would not come close to covering the costs of my legal fees or even my lost wages. "However, I do believe I should be compensated – not for financial gain but to have the injustice I have experienced acknowledged." Advertisement Earlier this week, a following a review at the Court of Appeal. Peter Sullivan is The then 29-year-old was branded after being wrongly convicted of killing 21-year-old Diane Sindall in 1986. He is the victim of Advertisement Mr Sullivan, who held his hand to his mouth and appeared tearful as the decision was handed down, said he was "not angry" and would "begin repairing what I made from the driftwood that is my life".
The Sun
16-05-2025
- The Sun
I was wrongly jailed for 5 years after being accused of rape I DIDN'T commit – I spent £500k but didn't get a penny back
A MAN who was wrongly jailed for five years spent £5000,000 to prove his innocence - and was told he won't receive compensation. Brian Buckle, 53, was wrongly convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a child in 2017. 4 4 4 He was found guilty of 16 counts of historical child sex abuse and was sentenced to 15 years. After a lengthy legal battle, spending £500,000 and five years in prison, Brian was able to get a retrial got all the charges dropped. Despite the horrific emotional and financial toll, Brian was told that he was not entitled to a single penny. He told The Independent: 'I'm disgusted by it really, that they can take you away from your family for five and a half years, and totally disregard what's happened.' 'They still say that I'm not innocent enough to get compensation, yet the letter I had off them says I am innocent and remain innocent of all charges.' The Ministry of Justice told Brian that in order to receive compensation, he would need to "prove it beyond reasonable doubt." His innocence was acknowledged by the ministerial department, but it claims evidence wasn't solid enough for him to have any sort of financial aid. The law was changed in 2014 to state that if somebody has faced a miscarriage of justice in the UK, they cannot just have the charges dropped but must also prove they are innocent. Brian has slammed the system as 'unfair and draconian.' Fresh forensic evidence presented at his retrial led the jury to acquit him in less than an hour. DNA used to put him in prison was found to be flawed, and all the counts were dropped. However, Brian is still unable to prove his innocence beyond reasonable doubt. He and his family remain thousands of pounds out of pocket and have started a petition to receive compensation. "My wife's inheritance has been spent, and I lost a well-paid job that I had done for 16 years prior to my arrest," Brian continued. "I missed my daughter's 18th and 21st birthdays and so much more. "My life has been devastated by what has happened to me and the effects, including PTSD exist to this day. "I do not think what has happened to me is fair. "I am not seeking millions and in fact the compensation paid is relatively small - even if awarded it would not come close to covering the costs of my legal fees or even my lost wages. "However, I do believe I should be compensated – not for financial gain but to have the injustice I have experienced acknowledged." Earlier this week, a man who spent 38 years in jail for a murder he didn't commit had his conviction quashed following a review at the Court of Appeal. Peter Sullivan is in line for a £1million compensation payout after being incarcerated for nearly four decades. He is the victim of Britain's longest miscarriage of justice and was freed on May 13. Mr Sullivan, who held his hand to his mouth and appeared tearful as the decision was handed down, said he was "not angry" and would "begin repairing what I made from the driftwood that is my life".
The Independent
16-05-2025
- The Independent
‘I lost my life': Man wrongly jailed for five years demands fair compensation scheme
An innocent man who spent five years behind bars after being wrongly convicted of rape has hit out at the 'unfair and draconian' compensation system, warning a miscarriage of justice could happen to anyone. In 2017, Brian Buckle's life was upended after he was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a child, charges which he had denied. After a lengthy legal battle, his conviction was found unsafe by the Court of Appeal, and a retrial with fresh forensic evidence and witnesses saw the jury clear him of all counts within less than an hour. Despite this, he was rejected compensation from the Ministry of Justice, who acknowledged his innocence but said he must 'prove it beyond reasonable doubt'. It follows a significant law change in 2014, whereby if a victim of a miscarriage of justice in England and Wales wants to receive compensation, they must not only be cleared, but also demonstrate they are innocent. He told The Independent: 'I'm disgusted by it really, that they can take you away from your family for five and a half years, and totally disregard what's happened.' 'They still say that I'm not innocent enough to get compensation, yet the letter I had off them says I am innocent and remain innocent of all charges.' His calls for change come days after Peter Sullivan had his murder conviction overturned, in what is thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history. The 68-year-old spent 38 years behind bars in a Category A prison after being convicted of the frenzied rape and murder of florist Diane Sindall, 21, who was killed as she left work in 1986. Mr Sullivan always protested his innocence and new forensic evidence ordered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission found that his DNA evidence was not present on samples preserved from the crime scene. Of Mr Sullivan's overturned conviction, Mr Buckle said: 'Although it is great to hear that Peter Sullivan has had his conviction quashed, it is horrific that he has been locked up for 38 years for a crime he did not do. 'Thankfully DNA has now proven it was not him, yet DNA was first used in 1986 a year before Peter was found guilty and the UK National Database was established in 1995. It should never have taken until 2025 to establish it was someone else's DNA.' The news of what happened to Mr Sullivan left Mr Buckle feeling angry: 'I just felt sorry for the man... It's just unbelievable.' Now, he is trying to raise awareness about the possibility that others might experience the same miscarriage of justice. 'I was one of the general public, and like I say, I still am. But [I want to] educate them to think like this can happen to anybody at any time.' As a result of his own experience in being wrongly convicted, Mr Buckle has suffered PTSD and lost a well-paid job he held for 16 years prior to his arrest. His time in prison also meant that he missed his daughter's 18th and 21st birthdays, and his wife spent her entire inheritance in funding legal fees to secure his release. He said: 'My family sacrificed everything to clear my name. My father-in-law even sold his house to fund my legal fight. The emotional and financial toll has been devastating. 'Now I live with PTSD, and even though I am a free man, the trauma of those five years will never fully leave me. I don't want millions - I want recognition of the injustice I suffered and the chance to rebuild my life.' Every night, Mr Buckle dreams about prison. 'When I wake up in the morning, I just feel so bad because when I wake up, I think I'm still in prison.' Since his release, he's become a totally different person as he no longer trusts people; it's taken its toll on his family relationships. He is still trying to 'build a relationship back up' with his wife and daughter having been away from home for so long. Mr Buckle hasn't been able to return to work since he's left prison. 'There's no way I could go out and work for somebody at the moment because I just want to be home. I don't like being around people and stuff really. 'I've got to have people with me that I trust all the time that talk for me.' In his letter from the MoJ, Mr Buckle was given no chance to appeal the decision regarding his compensation, and is calling for the current scheme to be scrapped. Over the course of his imprisonment, Mr Buckle's family spent £500,000 on legal fees to prove his innocence and secure his release. Had he been able to apply for compensation, this is equal to the total amount he would have potentially been awarded. Mr Buckle is not alone in his sense of betrayal and anger at the English criminal justice system. In recent years, several miscarriage of justice cases have made headlines including Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years behind bars for rape. He had his conviction quashed in 2023 after his own lawyers tracked down DNA evidence that proved his innocence. Victor Nealon similarly spent 17 years behind bars for attempted rape, 10 years longer than his recommended tariff, because he continued to protest his innocence. On two occasions the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) twice rejected to carry out DNA tests that would have proved his innocence. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We acknowledge the grave impact miscarriages of justice have and are committed to supporting individuals in rebuilding their lives. 'The Law Commission is currently consulting on the law relating to criminal appeals, including compensation for miscarriages of justice. We will consider their findings before deciding on any action in this area.'
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I was wrongly imprisoned for FIVE years for child sex crimes and used my life savings to prove my innocence but I'm told I'll never see a penny of compensation
A man wrongly imprisoned for a series of child sex crimes is desperately fighting for compensation after spending his life savings on proving his innocence. Brian Buckle, 51, spent five years behind bars for crimes he didn't commit - until he paid out £500,000 in a last-ditch attempt at freedom. In 2017, he was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault, three of indecency and one of attempted rape of a girl alleged to have been between eight and 10 years old, more than 20 years earlier. He then was thrown in a cell with a convicted rapist describing his time in prison as 'horrendous' claiming that the 'system just forgets about you' while inside. But the father consistently protested he had not committed the crimes, and his wife Elaine stuck by his side, with the couple spending hundreds of thousands of pounds to clear his name. A lengthy legal battle ended in Mr Buckle being released five years into his 15-year sentence after a jury found him not guilty of all charges in just 80 minutes following a re-trial in May, 2023. To fund his case, he used up his savings, inheritance money and in an act of extraordinary generosity, his father-in-law sold his house to help fight his conviction. A major breakthrough came after fresh analysis found DNA evidence used against him at his original hearing was flawed. His barrister believed the findings would cast doubt on the original conviction and successfully applied for a Court of Appeal hearing. After telling the three judges the DNA could have been planted, the judges quashed all 16 guilty verdicts saying they had no confidence that the jury had considered each count separately. However, a few days later the crown Prosecution Service announced it was seeking a retrial but the jury found Mr Buckle an innocent man. Despite the overturn in the verdict and the amount of money his family had to spend to obtain it, Mr Buckle says he has been told by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) he won't receive any compensation - because it doesn't believe he has proved his innocence. The rejection letter from the MoJ said it accepted Mr Buckle was 'innocent' of the sexual offences he was imprisoned for but that he had failed to prove 'beyond a reasonable doubt' that he had not committed the crimes. Mr Buckle described the justice system as being 'broken' and that it has 'created victims in me and my family'. Speaking to MailOnline, he said: 'It's not just about the compensation, it's them acknowledging that they got it so badly wrong. 'I have got to rebuild my life, it's not just the money you spent. I have lost a good job, my pension, and my salary up to when I retire.' 'The Ministry of Justice will do anything not to pay out compensation. 'It's a joke, really, that they can say that I'm not entitled to it when I proved well above a reasonable doubt that I have committed the crime. 'It's a hard pill to swallow, because you've spent 5 and a half years in prison for something you haven't done.' A petition calling for compensation has gathered more than 40,000 signatures, but Mr Buckle says that the battle to get reparation is just another chapter in what has been a torturous decade. When he was first accused, he first thought he was 'getting set up' before reality started to set in. He said: 'You're thinking that your world is ending. 'When I got interviewed, it just hit me straight away. You're sitting there like I've never been in trouble with the police, I've never been to court before. 'You just think surely they can't find me guilty. I haven't done these things. 'You are believing in the jury that they're listening and they're taking it all in but how wrong I was.' After being convicted he was thrown in a cell with a convicted rapist describing his time in prison 'horrendous' and claims that the 'system just forgets about you' while inside. 'It's not a nice place to be, even if you are guilty,' he said. 'But when you're in there, knowing that you've not committed the crime, and you're trying to prove that, it's even harder. 'It's lonely, it's sad, it's horrible. Every day is the same. It was groundhog day. 'You turn into a chameleon basically and just blend in. I kept myself to myself, stayed out of the way and you turn into something that you're not. 'You have to think for yourself, be alert and be selfish. You don't care about anybody else, it's just you when you're in there. People will take advantage, I've seen it.' He added that once in prison 'you're given a prison number and that's what you are, basically a number'. 'The system just forgets about you then. You are just left,' he said. 'They don't care if you're maintaining your innocence. All they're interested in is that they're getting paid for you to be in prison now.' Following a lengthy legal battle, Mr Buckle was released five years into his 33-year sentence after a jury found him not guilty of all charges in just 80 minutes following a re-trial at Swansea Crown Court in 2023. He described his family as a 'brilliant support network' and believes it wasn't for them, he would still be in prison. Following his release Mr Buckle has been suffering with PTSD and says he dreams about still being in prison and it is the first thing he thinks of when he wakes up. 'I hate the mornings,' he said. 'As day goes on I get better and then it's night time again and you think 'Oh God'. 'You just can't forget about it. You can try and live with it and move on. But you will never forget about it. 'When I won my appeal and was instantly released from prison, people go 'you're out now' and you think that's nothing. 'Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful but it's the trauma of it all. You think about it every day. It's hard work.' Mr Buckle has the support of his local MP, Ben Lake, who says it 'cannot be fair' for those 'who are forced to endure the trauma of wrongful conviction and imprisonment' to be denied compensation. Mr Lake said: 'The change introduced in 2014 to the law regarding compensation for miscarriages of justice has had a devastating impact on victims such as Mr Buckle, as it effectively prevents access to support and financial redress for their wrongful convictions and imprisonment. 'It cannot be fair for our justice system to deny support to those who are forced to endure the trauma of wrongful conviction and imprisonment, and who often suffer irreparable harm to their mental health and reputation. 'No system can ensure that it arrives at the correct verdict 100 per cent of the time, and most people accept that mistakes will be made. 'However, they will also understandably – and quite reasonably - assume that victims of miscarriages of justice are compensated, particularly if they have spent time in custody before being pardoned or having their convictions quashed. 'Unfortunately, this is the exception rather than the rule for victims of miscarriages of justice across England and Wales. 'That is why the UK Government must act to ensure that those wrongfully convicted are compensated, which is why I am eager to meet with the Minister as promised following the Westminster Hall debate last month to discuss Mr Buckle's case and ensure he receives the justice that is rightfully his.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'We acknowledge the grave impact miscarriages of justice have and are committed to supporting individuals in rebuilding their lives. 'The Law Commission is currently consulting on the law relating to criminal appeals, including compensation for miscarriages of justice. We will consider their findings before deciding on any action in this area.'
