BAMBOOZLED
Jeremy Bamber, The Failed Watchdog & Dead Essex Cop
Jeremy Bamber, who was convicted in 1986 of murdering his family inside their Essex farmhouse, has had his application to the miscarriages of justice watchdog rejected, The Upsetter can reveal.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) gave its decision amid a meltdown of political and public confidence in the watchdog whose chief executive since 2013 resigned today.
Karen Kneller clung on despite stinging criticism by ministers and MPs of her leadership and candour. She follows Helen Pitcher, the former chair, who resigned in January when the watchdog’s failings over a man wrongly accused of rape were exposed.
The CCRC took 4 years to reach its decision not to refer the Bamber case for a fresh appeal and even then only three of the nine core issues have been considered. The remaining grounds will be examined at an undetermined time in the future, Bamber has been told.
Why the watchdog could not consider the case in one pass is unexplained. Bamber has spent 40 years in prison protesting his innocence. If he is right or the victim of prosecutorial misconduct and did not get a fair trial, there is a duty on any watchdog to act expeditiously.
The CCRC decision on Bamber raises important questions about its mindset over possible institutional corruption by Essex police.
The watchdog relied on the force when examining claims made in The New Yorker magazine last year about potential exculpatory evidence. The American publication refused to release the evidence to the watchdog.
This curious approach to miscarriage of justice journalism was exposed by The Upsetter here and the ramifications for Bamber are set out below along with the deficiencies of a watchdog that won’t be put down.
