The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred the 1977 conviction of Errol Campbell to the Court of Appeal, marking the twelfth case tied to discredited British Transport Police officer DS Derek Ridgewell to face judicial re-examination.
Campbell, who died in 2004, was convicted of theft and conspiracy based on evidence led by Ridgewell, a figure at the heart of one of the UK’s most notorious policing scandals
Campbell’s case mirrors those of 11 others whose convictions, reliant on Ridgewell’s testimony, have already been quashed. Among them are Sallah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin, whose wrongful convictions were overturned in January 2024 after a CCRC review initiated in August 2023. The latest referral follows a September 2024 application by Campbell’s family, supported by the legal charity APPEAL, which argues systemic failures enabled Ridgewell’s corruption to fuel decades of injustice.
Ridgewell, who died in prison in 1982 after pleading guilty to theft from the same depot he once policed, orchestrated multiple wrongful convictions in the 1970s. His misconduct extended beyond Campbell’s case to the infamous prosecutions of the Oval Four and Stockwell Six, groups of young Black men framed for crimes they did not commit.
As reported by The Justice Gap, a recent nine-page internal British Transport Police (BTP) review into Ridgewell’s actions was widely condemned as ‘flawed’ for failing to account for destroyed records and potential victims.
The Campbell case highlights broader concerns about jury practices. Research by APPEAL revealed that at least 56 quashed convictions including those tied to Ridgewell relied on majority verdicts, a system critics argue undermines the principle of ‘reasonable doubt.’
Winston Trew, a member of the Oval Four whose conviction was overturned in 2021, highlighted this issue in a podcast interview with The Justice Gap and a recent Proof magazine article, where he detailed how Ridgewell’s racism and corruption colluded with a justice system prone to rushed conclusions.
The CCRC continues to urge individuals convicted in cases involving Ridgewell to seek reviews. With APPEAL’s report advocating for unanimous jury verdicts and transparency in judicial data, the Campbell case amplifies calls for systemic change. As Winston Trew wrote in Proof, ‘Ridgewell’s crimes were not just his own, they were enabled by a system that refused to see the truth.’
