Innocent man who spent five years in prison had ‘no support’ upon release

An innocent man who spent more than five years in prison has said he had “no support” when he was finally released from prison.

Brian Buckle, who was referred to an ex-offenders’ mental health meeting despite being acquitted, has also not received any compensation.

The 52-year-old from Pembrokeshire was wrongfully convicted in 2017 of 16 counts of historical child sex abuse and originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, but his conviction was overturned by a jury in a fresh trial after new forensic evidence emerged.

Mr Buckle applied for compensation from the Government because his acquittal was based on a newly discovered fact, but this was declined because the assessor felt the new evidence failed to demonstrate “beyond a reasonable doubt” that he had not committed the offences.

Debate

Plaid Cymru MP Ben Lake led a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament on miscarriage of justice compensation, which Mr Buckle attended with his wife Elaine.

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones acknowledged there was a debate about “where the line should be drawn” for compensation claims.

Mr Buckle told the PA news agency: “The doors open and you’re chucked out – I’ve had no help, I’ve had no support, I’ve had no counselling from the go.

“You can’t sleep, I’m just dreaming about prison. You can live with it, and in 10, 15, 20 years’ time I’ll still be living with it, but I’ll never forget it.”

He spent time in HMP Parc, Bridgend, before being moved to Stafford.

Mrs Buckle, now aged 59, said she did not “like driving much”, so drove to nearby Aberystwyth to catch a train when she visited her husband, who now has a diagnosis of PTSD.

Money

Mr Buckle said: “Everything’s about money. Once you’re in the system you’ve got to pay for solicitors, you’ve got to pay for barristers, pay for advice.

“And then once you’re convicted it’s the cost of travelling, cost for you living in prison because you can’t live on the money you’re on – £8 a week to live on, so you get your family sending money in to you.”

The former construction manager said he completed an interview with the police by phone in 2015, adding: “From that day, your life changes forever.”

The couple had planned to retire at 55, but are now paying off “tens of thousands” of pounds worth of debts, including in legal fees and to family members.

“When Brian was working in London and he had such a good highly paid job; I didn’t have to go out to work then,” Mrs Buckle said, adding that she took jobs as a carer and shop assistant.

“We both worked when he was working back home, but once Brian went to London and started earning big money, I didn’t and I was able to be a full-time mother to Georgia instead of going out to work.

“But of course the minute Brian went and the money stopped, I had to go and find a job.”

Mr Buckle said compensation is “not about” the money and would help in “righting the wrongs”.

He added: “The Government shouldn’t be looking at, ‘well I’ll tell you what, we’ll just pay them if we get it wrong’.

“They should be looking at the system. The system is broken – the whole justice system, the way they investigate the crime, the one-sided investigation.”

Ex-offenders’ mental health meeting

Mr Buckle said wrongful convictions are “spoiling it for the real victims”, and said despite being acquitted, he was referred to an ex-offenders’ mental health meeting in Swansea.

Mr Lake, the MP for Ceredigion Preseli, said in Westminster Hall that “there is a wrong to be righted and the new Government has the opportunity of doing so”, calling for a review of how the Government awards compensation.

“Delays to this justice is also effectively justice denied,” he added.

Ms Davies-Jones said she would pass on requests for a meeting between Mr Buckle and the relevant minister within the Ministry of Justice.

She said the test of who can receive compensation under the current scheme is designed so that “only those who can demonstrate that their conviction has been reversed on the basis of a new or newly discovered fact which shows beyond reasonable doubt that they did not commit the offence can receive compensation from the state”.

Ms Davies-Jones added that miscarriage of justice victims could pursue other avenues, such as a civil claim against an agency which has failed to act properly.

She said these cases are “the exception” but added “they do require serious and swift action”.

In the six years to April 2024, the Ministry of Justice received 591 compensation applications, with 133 passing the triage stage.

The Government awarded compensation in 39 cases, with £2.4 million paid.

Mr Buckle said he is “still in limbo a little bit” after hearing the minister’s response, but described a potential ministerial meeting as a “positive” step.