Oliver Campbell, whose murder conviction was quashed in September 2024 after more than three decades, is preparing a civil lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police alleging officers "badgered and bullied" him into signing a confession he says he did not make.

Campbell, now 55, was convicted in 1991 of the fatal shooting of shopkeeper Baldev Hoondle during a July 22, 1990, robbery in Hackney, east London. He served 11 years in prison and spent about two decades on licence before the Court of Appeal concluded the conviction was unsafe after fresh evidence emerged.

Campbell’s legal team says police exploited his severe learning disabilities, caused by brain damage as an infant, which affect his memory, concentration and ability to retain information. Solicitors say those symptoms left him vulnerable during police interviews and contributed to confessions that were inconsistent with the facts of the case.

The Court of Appeal, in a ruling by Lord Justice Holroyde sitting with Mr Justice Bourne and Mrs Justice Stacey, said three judges had "concluded that the convictions are unsafe" and that a jury informed by the fresh evidence might have reached a different verdict. The judgment followed a two-day hearing in London at the end of February, the court was told.

Key pieces of fresh evidence included a British Knights baseball cap found a few hundred yards from the scene. Hair evidence in the cap did not match Campbell and Campbell told investigators the hat had been stolen from him after he bought it. Witness descriptions also diverged from Campbell’s appearance: the two men described by witnesses were said to be about 5 feet 10 inches tall, while Campbell is 6 feet 3 inches. Mr Hoondle’s son, who had said he came "face to face" with the gunman, failed to identify Campbell in an identity parade.

Judges heard that Campbell was interviewed 14 times during the police investigation and that on some occasions he was interviewed without a solicitor or an appropriate adult present. The court was told officers may have deliberately lied to him to elicit confessions and that some of Campbell’s admissions were, in the judges’ words, "simply absurd" and contained a "litany of inconsistencies."

Campbell’s solicitors say they will launch a civil claim for compensation, alleging the Metropolitan Police exploited his disabilities to secure a false confession. Solicitor Glyn Maddocks KC warned that the route to compensation is likely to be difficult: changes to law in 2014 require those seeking compensation after a miscarriage of justice to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they did not commit the offence — a high standard that is often practically unattainable in the absence of DNA or similarly conclusive evidence. Maddocks said the Met was likely to contest any claim.

Toby Wilton, who also represents Campbell, has called on the government to change that legal threshold, describing the current requirement as one that "heaps injustice upon injustice" by forcing victims of miscarriages of justice to bring complex, adversarial civil claims if they wish to obtain redress.

Campbell, who was 21 when he was convicted at the Old Bailey and was also convicted of conspiracy to rob, said after the Court of Appeal decision: "The fight for justice is finally over after nearly 34 years. I can start my life an innocent man." Friends have said he now works in a coffee shop and pursues interests such as music festivals without the supervision of probation.

The Metropolitan Police said the conviction was quashed on the basis of evidence that was not available at the time of Campbell’s confession and noted that Campbell had been found fit for detention and interview following a medical examination and had declined access to independent legal advice.

Campbell first appealed his conviction in 1994 and subsequently lost a second appeal in 2019 before the fresh evidence prompted the successful challenge. If he pursues civil damages, his lawyers and the force are likely to enter a protracted legal battle that will test the 2014 statutory standard for compensation in cases of wrongful conviction.