A Westminster inquiry into the controversial law around joint enterprise was launched in the House of Commons on Tuesday night at an event highlighting the impact on the families and friends of those wrongly convicted under the law. Joint enterprise is a centuries-old doctrine which has been described as a legal ‘dragnet’, used in the convictions of innocent bystanders or people involved in much lesser crimes, particularly against young Black boys and other over-criminalised groups.

The Westminster Commission on Joint Enterprise, headed up by the Labour peer and the former joint general secretary of Unite Lord Tony Woodley, is the first major project of the newly-formed All-Parliamentary Group on Miscarriages of Justice chaired by the Labour MP Kim Johnson MP. The commission will hear from expert witnesses including campaigners, lawyers, academics, civil society organisations, and those with lived experience of the law’s application, and present their findings to the government.

Kim Johnson MP speaking at the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Miscarriages of Justice launch of a new Westminster Commission on Joint Enterprise. (Photo by Andy Aitchison /FJP)

At the launch on Tuesday, Kim Johnson promised to ‘hold the government’s feet to the fire’ and recalled how David Lammy, then shadow Justice Secretary and now Foreign Secretary, stood with campaigners and said joint enterprise would be reviewed and reformed by a Labour government. Under the joint enterprise doctrine people are often convicted based on prejudicial evidence and racial stereotypes, particularly around ‘gang’ narratives. Black people make up 30% of joint enterprise defendants, leading to alarm that it is being applied disproportionately.

Kim Johnson, who has long championed reform of these sentences, says that joint enterprise constituted a worse miscarriage of justice than the Post Office Horizon scandal. A Supreme Court ruling in 2016 said that the law had taken a ‘wrong turn’ on joint enterprise, clearing the way for those convicted to challenge their convictions but in reality, nothing has changed and only one conviction was overturned as a result of the ruling.

Commissioners on the inquiry will include academics Dr Louise Hewitt, a law lecturer at Greenwich University and founder of the Innocence Project London, and Dr Bharat Malkani, a law lecturer and specialist in race and justice, as co-chairs. Hewitt described how her work on joint enterprise to date has made her ‘sad and angry’, particularly working with the families of those who have been affected. Also on the commission are the Bishop of Stepney, Joanne Grenfell, who has previously campaigned around miscarriages of justice; Joseph Appiah who spent 12 years in prison on a joint enterprise conviction for a crime he didn’t commit; defence lawyer and former Criminal Cases Review Commissioner, Sharon Persaud; Joanna Abeyie, councillor for City of London; barrister Yusuf Solley; as well as Kim Johnson.

The inquiry will also hear from lawyers, criminal justice practitioners, campaigners, police and prosecutors. In their terms of reference they state that although it is ‘broadly accepted’ that there must be some legal routes for prosecuting and punishing those who are complicit in criminal acts, even if not in a substantive way, it is ‘important to ensure that this doctrine is imposed fairly.’

Announcing the start of the commission, Kim Johnson said: ‘Joint enterprise is used as a dragnet to sweep huge numbers of predominantly young, Black men and children into the criminal justice system – many for crimes where they had no direct involvement or intent, and sometimes even no knowledge of. The current law’s ruthless indifference is horrifying. Lives wrecked for association, or for ‘foreseeing’ a crime they played no part in. The launch of the Westminster Commission on Joint Enterprise marks a critical step in confronting the profound injustices that joint enterprise law continues to inflict on individuals, families, and entire communities.’

She said this commission marks ‘a huge opportunity’ to hold the government accountable for their previous commitments to reform: ‘There is widespread acceptance – including from this government – that joint enterprise is deeply flawed and a major miscarriage of justice. This Commission will push for action – for reform, to raise awareness, and to work towards a legal system that truly serves justice.’ Johnson also praised the ‘phenomenal’ work of campaign group JENGbA (Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association), who have been fighting for reform for years, and were instrumental in the 2016 Supreme Court decision.

JENGbA welcomed the start of the commission, saying: ‘It will examine over a decade worth of campaigning and research that must finally end the injustice of joint enterprise. The campaign thanks Kim Johnson MP and everyone involved for their recognition of this cruel doctrine and the importance of getting rid of its use once and for all.’

Gloria Morrison of JENGbA speaking at the launch of the Westminster Commission on Joint Enterprise. Photo by Andy Aitchison/FJP

‘The cruelty must end’
At the launch, the mother of a man serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit spoke about her experience of the ‘draconian law’. She recalled telling her son that he wouldn’t be sent to prison for something he hadn’t done, then how she celebrated when he was sentenced to less than the 25 years his legal team had expected. There was no DNA evidence, no eyewitnesses, yet he was convicted ‘thanks to the good old British justice system.’

Another mother said her life ‘continues to be a living nightmare’, her son was wrongly convicted of murder 17 years ago, aged 15. She said the family of the boy who was killed that night also aren’t served by innocent people going to prison and that joint enterprise is ‘destroying lives’. She added: ‘we’re the only country in Europe that jails children in such high numbers, this cannot go on – the cruelty must end.’

Other family members present at the meeting spoke about entrenched issues in the criminal justice system which are exacerbated in joint enterprise cases. In many instances the fact their loved one had given a ‘no comment’ interview on the advice of their legal team was used against them at trial. Others spoke of the lack of expertise among legal professionals, meaning those on trial under joint enterprise weren’t adequately represented. Many of those convicted under the doctrine are children and teenagers with no experience of the criminal justice system, families were dismayed that they were tried as adults and expected to guide their legal counsel, despite having no understanding of the process.

Andrea Coomber, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform speaking at the launch of the Westminster Commission on Joint Enterprise. (Photo by Andy Aitchison /FJP)

The meeting heard how data is missing on joint enterprise, no one knows how many people it affects. Prison leaders don’t know who in their prisons are serving sentences for joint enterprise convictions, but this is crucial for their progress through the prison. This presents particular struggles when prisoners come in front of a parole board and the crucial sign of someone who has been rehabilitated and is ready to be released is that they admit what they have done. Joint enterprise prisoners have difficulty ‘admitting’ to the crimes that they did not commit, yet are serving time for.

Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said joint enterprise is one of the organisations four main priorities: ‘We have a system where 11 people can be convicted of a single person’s murder, it’s incredible. There’s one victim but apparently 11 people pulled the trigger.’

She described the situation in the ‘lifer estate’ where she often meets groups of young black men, baffled at what happened and why they are serving life sentences: ‘Sometimes they were there, or they did throw a punch, so they are happy to do time for assault, but they’re serving a life sentence for murder.’

A judicial review brought by JENGbA means the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has to gather and analyse data regarding people prosecuted on a joint enterprise basis, with the results expected next year. It is anticipated that this will uphold longstanding and persistent concerns about disproportionality in joint enterprise prosecutions, especially for offences of serious violence, of Black and minoritised communities, young people, and those who are neurodiverse.

Liberty, who supported the legal challenge, said in a statement: ‘Despite research suggesting for over a decade that the joint enterprise laws are used disproportionately against people of colour, the CPS does not record any data about those prosecuted under joint enterprise, which conceals the full nature and extent of the problem. Of young males serving 15 years or more for Joint Enterprise convictions, nearly 60% are Black, Asian or from Minority Ethnic backgrounds (BAME) and nearly 40% are Black. In 2012, the Justice Committee recommended that the CPS should start recording and monitoring data about joint enterprise prosecutions – but only now, after a legal challenge, will they do so.’

Patricia and Lisa from JENGb

The launch of the Westminster Commission also saw the launch of a new report by JENGbA, In Their Own Words.  It drew on a series of listening days with the families and friends of those impacted by joint enterprise between October 2023 and May 2024 in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield and attended by 41 family members and friends. The discussions focussed on a number of themes including knowledge of joint enterprise including when they were first aware their loved ones were to be charged under joint enterprise; the impact on them and their communities; racism and the gang narrative.

The report was written by independent consultant Chris Tully who has worked in the sector for 35 years and developed the listening day idea model  through his work with other groups including INQUEST. ‘I was honoured to be able to work alongside the formidable and remarkable woman of JENGbA,’ he told the meeting. ‘What I wasn’t really prepared for was the shock and anger of what I ended up hearing in those family days.’ He was joined by Patricia and Lisa who took part in the family days.

Families reported having ‘little or no previous knowledge’ of joint enterprise and in many cases only found out ‘immediately prior to, or during the trial and in some cases not until the judges’ summing up’. There was particular concern about how the slippery concept of foresight was deployed by the prosecution and courts. ‘So many of the cases rested on this legal concept,’ Tully said. ‘As one person explained, his son was on video camera about 10 miles away from his car. How can you have foresight if you aren’t even there,’ Tully said. ‘We heard about the toll on people’s physical and mental health and the damage done to family relationships, the impact it has in your life, the pressure, physically and mentally. It’s so hard to keep it all together. We heard about the breakdown of relationships with neighbors and members of their local communities, often based on stigma and the suspicion that ‘there is no smoke without fire’, and a general lack of awareness amongst the public of how joint enterprise is misused to demonise and criminalize specific communities.’

Chris Tully reported that families frequently expressed anger towards the police ‘often seen as complicit with the CPS’ in using joint enterprise as ‘a blunt instrument to round up and prosecute young people, particularly on the basis of race, class and, in some cases, family surname and by dint of living in a particular neighbourhood often underpinned by the use of a gang narrative.’

The families also spoke about the ‘community of interest’ forged by JENGbA without which many felt they would have ‘collapsed under the weight of trying to support loved ones and sustain other relationships’.