The Innocent Have Almost Nothing to Fear

The Minister for Justice and Heterosexual Hostelry, who famously knows as much about the law as Jeremy C Hunt knows about medicine or Theresa May about the Passport Office, has refused compensation to a man who was wrongfully imprisoned. Mere judges have decided that Victor Nealon's conviction for attempted rape was unsafe, and Nealon was denied parole because he refused to admit to the crime; so naturally Chris Graybeing has decreed that no miscarriage of justice has taken place. Nealon's lawyers are hoping to get a judicial review before the coalition abolishes them; but as the differently-guilty one himself observed, "I'm still picking up the pieces of my life. My fight isn't over. It's going to take years." Even if the Government loses its case in the end, of course, it will do so on the taxpayer's money; which will no doubt be jolly fortunate for the life of Chris Graybeing.