Convictions Quashed for Men Framed by Corrupt British Police Officer

Two more men have had their theft convictions overturned half a century after they were framed by Britain's most corrupt police officer for crimes they did not commit.

In 1976, Christopher Poulter and Kevin Biggs, then aged 21 and 18 respectively, were convicted of taking 13 mailbags from a wagon in Clapham goods yard in London. They were wrongfully arrested by disgraced Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell.

Ridgewell was later jailed for seven years in 1980 after stealing more than £1 million in goods and was found to have framed scores of innocent young men for his own crimes. Poulter and Biggs have now had their convictions overturned following a referral to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) earlier this year, based on new evidence concerning Ridgewell's misconduct.

At the time of their conviction, Ridgewell was one of three officers who claimed to have witnessed Poulter and Biggs taking the mailbags and fleeing by car. The defense maintained that the two men had been at a pub in Tooting, south London, throughout the night before their arrest. Poulter received a one-year prison sentence, and Biggs was sentenced to borstal training.

Mr. Biggs died in 2004, and his innocence emerged through an investigation by the British Transport Police (BTP), which was seeking out victims of Ridgewell. Poulter and Biggs are the 14th and 15th individuals to have their convictions quashed in relation to Ridgewell's misconduct. They were convicted alongside Stephen Simmons, whose conviction was overturned in 2018.

During a hearing on Tuesday, Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr. Justice Lavender and Mr. Justice Linden, stated that the appeals should have been heard together. He noted that relatives of the deceased Mr. Biggs could not be located, nor could Mr. Poulter, to join Mr. Simmons' appeal. The court allowed the appeals and quashed the convictions.

Jenny Wiltshire, head of serious and general crime at Hickman and Rose, who has represented many of Ridgewell's victims, criticized the British Transport Police for the extensive delay in identifying and locating individuals affected by Ridgewell's actions. She highlighted that it has been half a century since Poulter and Biggs were found guilty of a crime they did not commit, despite the BTP knowing about Ridgewell's corruption much earlier. Wiltshire added that this inaction meant Christopher Poulter lived most of his life as a convicted criminal, and Kevin Biggs died as one.

In July of the previous year, other victims of Ridgewell called for legal changes after judges quashed the 13th wrongful conviction. Detective Sergeant Ridgewell's racism and criminality became so notorious by 1973 that the then Home Secretary faced calls for a public inquiry. However, it took another 50 years for the full extent of his wrongdoing against innocent young black men to come to light.

Errol Campbell, who died in 2004, and Ronald De Souza, 71, who were framed by Ridgewell in the 1970s, were also cleared by the Court of Appeal. This brings the total number of wrongful convictions based on Ridgewell's false testimony to 13, making it one of the most significant miscarriages of justice perpetrated by a British police officer.

The families of those posthumously cleared are now advocating for a new law mandating an automatic independent review of cases involving police officers who are convicted and imprisoned. Ronald De Souza was the last member of the "Stockwell Six," a group of young black men falsely accused of attempting to rob Ridgewell on the London Underground, to have his conviction overturned. He was sentenced to six months in prison in 1972 for attempted robbery.

British Transport Police quietly transferred Ridgewell from investigating muggings to its mailbag theft unit, where he stole £364,000 worth of property, equivalent to nearly £1.3 million today. In 1977, former British rail employee Errol Campbell was wrongly jailed for 18 months for theft and conspiracy to steal from a goods depot, based on evidence planted by Ridgewell to conceal his own criminal activities. Ridgewell's theft was discovered, leading to his conviction and a seven-year sentence in 1980. He died of a heart attack in prison two years later at the age of 37.

Despite Ridgewell's disgrace, victims and their families have spent decades proving their innocence through research and freedom of information requests, during which time some wrongly convicted individuals died. Errol Campbell Jr. told the court that his father "was a ruined man" after his wrongful conviction. His solicitor, Matt Foot, stated that the BTP was aware of Ridgewell's corruption but allowed him to continue his actions. Foot urged for a legal change to ensure automatic reviews of cases involving jailed police officers, which he believes would have prevented decades of suffering for families like the Campbells.

In July of the previous year, BTP Assistant Chief Constable Doyle issued an apology to those affected by Ridgewell's actions, acknowledging that his "appalling actions" led to the criminalization of innocent people. Doyle stated that the BTP is continuing to review records related to Ridgewell's corrupt practices, including those involving officers who may have assisted him. He expressed disgust at Ridgewell's actions and emphasized that they do not represent the BTP of today, adding that a criminal investigation into the actions of those involved is ongoing.