Andrew Malkinson describes wrongful conviction as ’emotional rollercoaster’

A man who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit has described his ordeal as an “emotional rollercoaster” and said he still has “anger to deal with”.

Andrew Malkinson also reiterated calls for reforms made in the wake of his exoneration to go further and said he would be waiting “some time” for compensation as he appeared as a guest editor on the Today programme.

Mr Malkinson had his 2003 conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal in July after new DNA evidence potentially linking another man to the crime was identified.

I have my down days, I get depressed. I’ve got a bit of anger to deal with

He twice applied for his case to be referred for appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) but was turned down.

Mr Malkinson was eventually released from prison in December 2020.

A senior judge is leading an independent inquiry to examine how Greater Manchester Police (GMP), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the CCRC handled the case.

At the same time, a barrister appointed by the CCRC is conducting a separate review into the role the body played.

Mr Malkinson told the BBC Radio 4 show on Friday he learnt “a lot about my own resilience” during his time behind bars and now he is a free man he was “still getting used to what’s happened”.

“I have my down days, I get depressed. I’ve got a bit of anger to deal with.

“You can’t go through something like that and not be furious.

“I was angry all the time in prison but I had to park it and process it slowly somehow in my own way. It’s a real emotional rollercoaster,” he said.

Mr Malkinson discussed how being diagnosed with type one diabetes while in jail was “another cross to bear” and how he devised “coping strategies” but never gave up hope despite the experience taking a “massive toll”.

He told how he felt “outrage and fury,” especially when he realised the police “had abused their powers”.

Earlier this year he branded a Greater Manchester Police apology in the wake of the ruling “meaningless”.

On Friday he said further apologies from other bodies “won’t change what has already happened but it will show there is some contrition”.

During the programme, Mr Malkinson – who has described himself as being “kidnapped by the state” – explored the psychological effects of wrongful detention, shared experiences with journalist John McCarthy who was held hostage by Hezbollah in the 1980s and discussed how his passion for science, space and astronomy helped him while he was incarcerated.

He told how he prefers to spend his time abroad and travelling because Britain does not feel like home to him, saying he had been betrayed “very badly” and was made to “feel like a pariah”.

After the outrage sparked by the miscarriage of justice in Mr Malkinson’s case, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk abandoned rules which saw wrongly convicted people having prison living costs deducted from their compensation payments with immediate effect.

He later said he was “considering” backdating the reforms.

Mr Malkinson told the Today programme the policy was still “grossly unfair – it’s not retrospective” as he described how some people who were wrongfully convicted were “deeply out of pocket” by tens of thousands of pounds.