3 Men Cleared By The Court of Appeal Nearly 50 Years After Their Conviction

After a 47 year wait, 3 victims of police corruption have had their convictions quashed at the Court of Appeal. Winston Trew, Sterling Christie & George Griffiths were part of the Oval 4 who were found guilty of assaulting an officer and attempted theft in 1972.

The Oval Four we’re arrested as part of an operation to target thefts on the Northern Line. They have always claimed they were framed by the officer in charge, DS Derek Ridgewell, who was later jailed for stealing mail bags.

In January 2018 the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction of Stephen Simmons who had been convicted of theft on the basis of Ridgewell’s evidence - this paved the way for Winston Trew and Sterling Christie to appeal.

On December 5, 2019 the Court of Appeal judge described it as “a very unhappy story”