Andrew Malkinson spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit (Picture: PA)
A man who was jailed for 17 years after being wrongly convicted of rape says he is now ‘broke’ and living in a tent in Spain.
Andrew Malkinson, then 37, was falsely convicted of raping a woman while working as a security guard in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2003.
The 57-year-old could have been released after six-and-a-half years if he had given a false confession – but he refused to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit.
Mr Malkinson was finally released in July this year after his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal, after it was found Greater Manchester Police had been withholding crucial information during his trial.
Following his release, Andrew has been travelling Europe and now lives in a tent in Seville (Picture: Appeal)
Since his release, he has since travelled to Amsterdam to stay close to an ex-partner, Karin Schuitemaker, who he said never lost faith in his innocence.
He then set off on a road trip through Europe using a friend’s van, travelling through France and Portugal before landing in Seville, where he currently lives in a tent on a campsite.
Living in a tent allows him to enjoy ‘the anonymity and nature’, Mr Malkinson said, adding that he ‘cannot bear’ to be in Britain.
‘This horror will always be with me,’ told BBC Breakfast. ‘I just deal with it by using the mental resources I’ve used to survive in prison. I am kind of at war with the authorities, I’ve been that way since the day they kidnapped me.
‘They lied, they distorted the truth, they hid exculpatory evidence, that to me is a war.
‘A non-statutory is not going to cut it with the police. They’ve been everything but honest. They will not give it up. They’re institutionally dishonest.
‘I have no faith in any British authority higher than a traffic warden. I don’t trust the British, Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday – they can’t face the truth.’
Andrew is owed substantial compensation for his imprisonment, but could have to wait two years to receive it (Picture: Shutterstock)
When asked whether he saw the UK as his home, he said ‘no, adding ‘this isn’t my home, your friends don’t kidnap you do they?’
Although Mr Malkinson is set to receive a substantial compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, he said he has been warned it could be two years before he receives any money.
In the meantime, Andrew said he is ‘basically homeless’ as he awaits his trial.
‘I’m on benefits. I don’t have a job, I’m living in a tent. I’m basically homeless and waiting for them to do the right thing,” he said.
‘They have the power to do the right thing but they chose to take their time.’
Plans for a public inquiry to investigate why Mr Malkinson spent almost two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit were revealed in August by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk.
But the inquiry will be non-statutory, which means investigators will have no legal power to make witnesses attend.
Following the announcement, Mr Malkinson blamed the lord chancellor and said he had ‘made a mistake’ by not compelling witnesses by law to testify and disclose evidence.
‘The police don’t want to disclose,’ he told the Guardian. ‘They never have done and I can’t see them playing ball unless they’re compelled to by a statutory inquiry.’
‘I want to know all the details of exactly how and why [this] happened. Because I can’t rest until I know,’ he added. ‘It’s my life and the suffering is incalculable. Oceans of tears I’ve suffered because of that. And I want to know why.’
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said.’The Lord Chancellor has been clear Andrew Malkinson suffered an atrocious miscarriage of justice and he deserves thorough and honest answers as to how and why it took so long to uncover.’
‘The Criminal Cases Review Commission, Crown Prosecution Service and Greater Manchester Police have all pledged their full cooperation to the independent inquiry into the handling of his conviction and subsequent appeals.’
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Andrew Malkinson was jailed in 2003 for a rape he did not commit.