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CRIMINAL CASES REVIEW COMMISSION (CCRC) REFERS CONVICTIONS OF MICHAEL O'BRIEN, ELLIS SHERWOOD AND DARREN HALL TO THE COURT OF APPEAL

Messrs O'Brien, Sherwood and Hall were convicted of the murder and robbery of Cardiff newsagent, Philip Saunders, at Cardiff Crown Court on 20 July 1988, and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder. On the charge of robbery, Mr Hall was sentenced to six years youth custody concurrent; while Mr Sherwood and Mr O'Brien were each sentenced to eight years youth custody concurrent. An appeal against conviction was heard by the Court of Appeal in March 1990 and dismissed.

Mr O'Brien applied to the Home Office on 9 April 1990. Following a BBC Wales documentary television programme, he made a further submission to the Home Office in 1996. His case was transferred to the Commission for consideration after 31 March 1997, when the Commission assumed the responsibility for the investigation of suspected miscarriages of justice previously exercised by the Home Secretary. Solicitors acting for Mr Sherwood and Mr Hall submitted applications to the Commission on behalf of their clients in June 1997.

Following submissions from the applicant's solicitors and the completion of its own enquiries, which were materially aided by an Investigating Officer from an outside police force, the Commission has concluded that convictions of Messrs O'Brien, Sherwood and Hall should be reconsidered by the Court of Appeal.

The so-called Cardiff Three yesterday returned home on bail after 11 years in prison, pending an appeal against their convictions for the murder of a newsagent.

They celebrated with their families in Wales after campaigners stood the £5,000 bail. The three deny murdering Philip Saunders, who was attacked and robbed in Cardiff in October 1987. After a private hearing at the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Hooper said that granting bail should not be taken as an indication that the renewed appeal would succeed. But a number of features in the case were similar to earlier appeals in which miscarriages of justice had been established, he said. Michael O'Brien, aged 30, and Ellis Sherwood, 29, of Cardiff, and Darren Hall, 29, of Newport, will return to London for next year's appeal, which was granted last month by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The case against the men was based partly on an alleged confession by Hall, evidence from associates who claimed to have heard the men talking about the killing, and testimony from a police officer who claimed to have overheard a cell conversation between O'Brien and Sherwood in which they admitted the killing.

The findings of the review commission are believed to have identified possible breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act relating to the defendants' right to access to solicitors.

Campaigner Denis Eady said: "I'm sure the families will have some form of celebration."

A former South Wales Police officer is under investigation amid doubts over evidence he produced to help secure convictions. The Police Complaints Authority is currently looking into two cases of former detective Stuart Lewis.

One involves the so-called Cardiff Newsagent Three which centres on alleged breaches of the police disciplinary code, and the other involves a complaint made by a Cardiff coroner.

The BBC Wales current affairs series Week In Week Out has spoken to former defendants, solicitors, and a former colleague and has unearthed a pattern of allegations against the detective over many years.

The programme also heard evidence from three men convicted of the murder of Cardiff newsagent Phillip Saunders in 1987. Week In Week Out made a programme in 1996 which questioned various aspects of the case, and evidence gathered by Stuart Lewis and others.

After that, their case was referred back to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, who in turn brought in an outside force to investigate.

The report by Thames Valley officers was completed at the end of last year. The men are now currently on bail awaiting the Court of Appeal hearing in December.

Darren Hall at the time admitted being the lookout and implicated others but has since retracted that statement, blaming police pressure as one of the reasons for his confession.

He said: "The amount of pressure that was put on me by detectives, they would take me upstairs, take me downstairs, they wouldn't let me rest, they wouldn't let me have my solicitor, and it got to the point where I was at breaking point."

A south Wales coroner sent a letter of complaint to the PCA about Stuart Lewis - which the authority said was almost unheard of.

The coroner was unhappy about the handling of an investigation into the death of a Cardiff man, David Kelleher. The coroner said: "There a number of gaps in the evidence which I feel have not been fully explained.

"I am not convinced, there are so many unexplained questions on how the drug came into his system that I feel that the evidence doesn't fully show how David came by his death. "

He returned an open verdict.

Stuart Lewis, who has since retired from the force, was reluctant to comment on the case. "The matter is sub judice. It would not be appropriate for me to comment," he said.

One of the men wrongly jailed for the murder of Cardiff newsagent Philip Saunders is due to file a claim for £1.1m compensation.

The legal team acting on behalf of Michael O'Brien will submit their final report to the Home Office on Monday.

Mr O'Brien, 32, spent 11 years in prison with Darren Hall, 32, and Ellis Sherwood, 31, after they were convicted of Mr Saunders' murder in 1988.

But in 1999, after a lengthy battle to clear their names, the Court of Appeal quashed the men's convictions.

Mr O'Brien has been at the forefront of a campaign since then to receive a public apology from South Wales Police and he has demanded a full inquiry into the case.

He is now seeking full compensation for his loss of liberty.

Mr O'Brien is one of the founder members of Mojo - Miscarriages of Justice Organisation - which was unveiled in March along with Paddy Joe Hill, one of the Birmingham Six.

In April, South Wales Police confirmed no action was to be taken against any officers connected with the Cardiff Newsagent Three case.

But the force has announced a full review of the murder case.

Mr Saunders was attacked and by robbers outside his home in the Canton area of Cardiff in October 1987.

He died five days later in hospital.

All three men had served 11 years of a life term after being convicted based on Mr Hall 'confessing' to detectives.

During the hearing in December 1999, the Appeal Court heard Mr Hall had a history of telling lies.

Questions were also raised about the conduct of investigating officers, who were alleged to have shown a "systematic disregard" of the rules governing interrogation of suspects.

In February this year, the Crown Prosecution Service announced it would not bring charges against any officers.

South Wales Police also announced that they will review the murder of the Cardiff newsagent.

They have said that all interested parties have been informed of the development, and the review will be carried out by an independent person.

A man with a vulnerable personality made a false confession to police after being "maltreated" by detectives, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Darren Hall, then 18, was at times handcuffed to a radiator during repeated questioning and was initially denied access to a lawyer, said Edward Fitzgerald QC.

The appeal hearing was told detectives had shown a systematic disregard for the rules governing interrogation. The "confession" formed the basis of the prosecution's case against Hall and two others he implicated - Michael O'Brien, now 31, and Ellis Sherwood, now 30.

It resulted in the conviction of all three on a charge of murdering Cardiff newsagent Philip Saunders.

The trio - known as the "Cardiff Newsagent Three" - were jailed for life more than 11 years ago. Their first appeal against conviction was turned down in March 1990.

Last December, they were released on bail pending a fresh challenge, after the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred their case back to the Court of Appeal.

The three sat behind their lawyers in court as Mr Fitzgerald, for Hall, opened the new appeal hearing. He told Lord Justice Roch, Mr Justice Keene and Mr Justice Astill that Mr Hall, now 30, had retracted his confession and his evidence at the trial.

He said he wished "to apologise to all those concerned, including the court and his co-defendants, for his part in bringing about a miscarriage of justice".

Mr Saunders died in hospital five days after being robbed in a brutal attack in the back yard of his home in the city. He had been hit over the head with a shovel and was never able to identify his assailants to police.

A key part of the prosecution's case was a statement by Mr Hall that he acted as lookout for the other two and that they attacked Mr Saunders.

The appeal judges are expected to hear evidence that Mr Hall was emotionally unstable, of below average intelligence and an attention-seeker given to fantasising.

Mr Fitzgerald said evidence from independent witnesses and experts showed that Mr Hall suffered from a mental disorder to such a degree his evidence was unreliable. After apologising on Mr Hall's behalf for the trouble caused by his confession, Mr Fitzgerald said he was "not the only person to blame in this sorry history".

He told the court: "This whole train of events was set in motion by a system of oppressive treatment and questioning by the police of a vulnerable 18-year-old suspect. He was denied access to a solicitor for the first 36 hours of his first detention and the crucial initial period of his second detention during which he made the admissions."

The Criminal Cases Review Commission had drawn attention to many breaches of interrogation rules under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE). The Commission stated: "These breaches indicate a systematic disregard of the requirements of PACE by the officers involved in the murder inquiry and caused the Commission to question the integrity of the police investigation."

The hearing continues.

Confessions made to police by a young murder suspect 12 years ago were "at risk" of being unreliable, a psychologist called by the prosecution has told London's Criminal Appeal Court.

But Brian Thomas-Peter - a clinical and forensic psychologist - took issue with psychiatric evidence called by lawyers for Darren Hall.

They maintained that he had been afflicted by an "anti-social personality disorder" at the time of his arrest on suspicion of murdering Cardiff news agent, Philip Saunders.

He told Lord Justice Roch, Mr Justice Keene and Mr Justice Astill: "I am still not convinced that at this time he suffers from that disorder".

During police interrogation on the murder, Darren Hall admitted taking part in the killing. The "confession" formed the basis of the prosecution's case against Hall, Michael O'Brien, now 31, and Ellis Sherwood, now 30.

But the court has already heard evidence that the "confession" was extracted under duress.

The trio were jailed for life more than 11 years ago. Their first appeal against conviction was turned down in March 1990. Last December, they were released on bail pending a fresh challenge, after the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred their case back to the Court of Appeal.

Mr Saunders died in hospital five days after being robbed in a brutal attack in the back yard of his home in the city. He had been hit over the head with a shovel and was never able to identify his assailants to police.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission had drawn attention to many breaches of interrogation rules under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE).

The Commission stated: "These breaches indicate a systematic disregard of the requirements of PACE by the officers involved in the murder inquiry and caused the Commission to question the integrity of the police investigation."

The hearing continues.

The Court of Appeal has been told that key witnesses in the Cardiff Newsagent Three trial admitted lying.

Christopher Chick and his girlfriend Helen Morris later retracted their evidence saying police put pressure on them. Mr Chick also said police had offered him £5,000 for giving evidence against the men but was then refused it as he "hadn't played ball".

Barristers acting for Michael O'Brien, Ellis Sherwood and Darren Hall asked the three Appeal Court judges to rule that their convictions were unsafe because a confession by one of them could not be relied on.

However, the Crown maintains there is still enough evidence to uphold the guilty verdicts for the murder of newsagent Philip Saunders in 1987.

A key part of the prosecution case at the trial of the three 11 years ago was the statement made to police by Darren Hall that he had acted as look-out while Michael O'Brien and Ellis Sherwood attacked Mr Saunders.

Lawyers for the three now claim their convictions were "unsafe and unsatisfactory" in the light of psychiatric evidence that Hall was unusually vulnerable and suggestible and that his confession could not be relied upon as true.

Hall, 30, from Newport, Gwent, O'Brien, 31, and Sherwood, 30, both from Cardiff, were convicted of Mr Saunders' murder in July 1988.

The newsagent died in hospital in October 1987 five days after being robbed in a savage attack in the backyard of his Cardiff home. He had been struck over the head with a shovel and was never able to identify his attackers.

At the trial Hall admitted his part in the killing but described his role as that of a look-out. All three men were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Both Sherwood and O'Brien have always denied any part in the robbery or killing, also asserting Hall's innocence.

The appeal hearing continues.

Written evidence of an incriminating conversation between two men convicted of murdering a Cardiff newsagent has been lost, the court of appeal in London has been told.

It was written by a senior detective central to the police investigation into the death of Philip Saunders in 1987. The note was jotted down onto the back of an expenses claim form by former detective Stuart Lewis.

The appeal court heard that he had gone to the cells in Canton Police Station in Cardiff, where Michael O'Brien and Ellis Sherwood were being held. Mr Lewis had hoped the pair would discuss the murder of newsagent Mr Saunders who had been killed at his Cardiff home in October 1997.

The newsagent died in hospital five days after being robbed in a savage attack. He had been struck over the head with a shovel and was never able to identify his attackers.

The appeal court was told that both O'Brien and Sherwood insisted the conversation noted down by Mr Lewis did not take place.

Bob Marshall Andrews QC, Sherwood's barrister, questioned Mr Lewis over why he had not recorded the conversation in his pocket book.

He described Mr Lewis as a central senior figure in the investigation. Mr Andrews said two key prosecution witnesses said Mr Lewis was involved in threats and inducements made to them to get them to repeat their evidence in court.

Christopher Chick and his girlfriend Helen Morris later admitted lying during the trial. They retracted their evidence saying police put pressure on them.

Mr Chick also said police had offered him £5,000 for giving evidence against the men but was then refused it as he "hadn't played ball".

The court was also told that Mr Lewis had been present when a third man, Darren Hall, admitted being the look-out while Sherwood and Ellis attacked the newsagent.

Hall, 30, from Newport, Gwent, O'Brien, 31, and Sherwood, 30, both from Cardiff, were sentenced to life after being convicted of Mr Saunders' murder in July 1988. Both Sherwood and O'Brien have always denied any part in the robbery or killing, also asserting Hall's innocence.

Lawyers for the three now claim their convictions were "unsafe and unsatisfactory" in the light of psychiatric evidence that Hall was unusually vulnerable and suggestible and that his confession could not be relied upon as true.

However, the Crown maintains there is still enough evidence to uphold the guilty verdicts.

The appeal hearing continues.

The Court of Appeal has heard a Welsh murder suspect was deprived of access to a solicitor at crucial stages during his initial period of detention.

Darren Hall was also chained to a radiator at a Cardiff police station as detectives investigated the murder of newsagent Philip Saunders. Barrister Edward Fitzgerald said Hall was also mentally unstable and his confession to witnessing the murder of Mr Saunders could not be relied on.

Mr Fitzgerald told the court that legal authority was clear that representation was necessary to avoid the pitfalls created in the case.

"This wasn't just some academic exercise," he said. "That safeguard was there for a very good reason, because people who are 18, emotionally unstable, and facing interrogation of this sort on a serious matter for the first time do need a solicitor. If they don't have it, the very dangers that these statutory provisions were intended to prevent are likely to occur."

Hall's youth at the time, his mental instability and the lack of access to a lawyer had made for what Mr Fitzgerald called a "deadly concoction from the point of view of producing an unreliable result."

"He needed a solicitor; he didn't have one. That's one of the reasons why this resulting series of confessions and contradictory remarks are thoroughly unreliable," he added. Mr Fitzgerald said Hall's psychological "abnormalities" cast a heavy doubt on the reliability of his evidence during the trial.

"That was, and remains, the pillar of this case," he added. Judge Mr Justice Astill suggested the motive behind Hall's handcuffing may have been to stop him absconding from Canton Police Station.

But Mr Fitzgerald continued: "Even if there were extenuating circumstances for the police, which we don't accept, the question is: Was something done which had an adverse effect on the reliability of the confessions? This is all part of a picture of oppressive and unlawful conduct which did have the effect of rendering anything said or done by Hall unreliable."

Mr Fitzgerald was making final submissions in the closing stages of the appeals by Hall, 30, from Newport, Michael O'Brien, 31, and Ellis Sherwood, 30, both from Cardiff. The trio were sentenced to life imprisonment in July 1988 for the murder of Mr Saunders. All three were released on bail last December pending the outcome of their appeal.

Mr Saunders died in hospital five days after a brutal robbery in which he was struck over the head with a shovel.

The prosecution case rested heavily on statements by Hall that he had acted as look-out for the other two while they attacked the newsagent.

But defence lawyers insist Hall's damning evidence was undermined by his fragile mental state and propensity to lie and fantasise.

Winding up the prosecution case Gerard Elias QC urged Lord Justice Roch, Mr Justice Astill and Mr Justice Keene to uphold the convictions, which he said were based on sound evidence.

"We submit that on an analysis of the evidence, and on an analysis of Hall's account implicating himself and the other two, the court should be satisfied that the evidence in this case was safe for the jury to act upon, that the convictions were right, and accordingly you should say that the convictions remain safe".

But Mr Fitzgerald said the prosecution was simply relying on "bits and pieces" thrown up at the end of the case once the "central part of the evidence" had been undermined.

The hearing continues.

Three men jailed for life more than 11 years ago for murdering a newsagent have been cleared by the Court of Appeal.

Darren Hall, from Newport, and Michael O'Brien and Ellis Sherwood, both from Cardiff, released on bail a year ago pending their renewed appeal, were in court to hear three judges formally quash their convictions of murdering Philip Saunders in Cardiff.

The court will give its reasons in the New Year.

During the nine-day hearing, the judges heard that crucial confessions made to detectives, but since retracted by Hall, could not be relied on because he was suffering from "anti-social personality disorder", living a "Walter Mitty" fantasy life and showing some of the attributes of a pathological liar.

Even the prosecution's own psychiatric expert conceded that Hall's admissions were "at risk of being unreliable".

Serious questions were raised about the conduct of investigating officers from South Wales Police who were alleged to have shown a "systematic disregard" of the rules governing interrogation of suspects under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

Lord Justice Roch sitting with Mr Justice Keene and Mr Justice Astill told the court: "It's clearly a matter where the court's judgement should be a considered one, not least because there are so many aspects which need to be dealt with. But we thought it right that the appellants should not be in doubt any longer."

There were jubilant scenes outside the courtroom after the ruling as Hall, O'Brien, and Sherwood were hugged by friends and loved ones.

Hall was so overcome he could say little more than "It's great, just really great".

O'Brien said: "I'm not surprised at the outcome, really. I'm very relieved at the outcome, but saddened that it's taken 12 years to put this matter right."

He said the prosecution "had not produced one shred of evidence to suggest that any of us three were guilty". He said he was considering legal action against the Crown Prosecution Service and South Wales Police.

Michael O'Brien has had plenty of time to choose his words carefully. Jailed 11 years ago for a murder he always insisted he did not commit, he and two others yesterday had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Standing outside the court yesterday, Mr O'Brien, said: "I have got mixed feelings. I am pleased that my name has been cleared but I also feel for the victim's family. We know who the real killer is - his name has been mentioned in court. It is up to the police to arrest him."

He called for a public inquiry into a series of investigations by South Wales Police, the force that arrested him and charged him with murder. His demands were supported by his barrister, Michael Mansfield QC.

"This is not the only case like this - there are more than 10," said Mr O'Brien, who, with his co-appellants, had been on bail. Mr O'Brien, 32, along with Darren Hall and Ellis Sherwood - known as the Cardiff Newsagent Three - were convicted in 1988 of the 1987 murder of newsagent Philip Saunders. Mr Saunders died in hospital five days after being attacked in his back yard in the Welsh capital by someone wielding a shovel. He was never able to identify his killer to the police.

Central to the prosecution's case at the 1988 trial was a confession made to police by Mr Hall that he had acted as a lookout for the others during a "robbery that went wrong".

During the appeal, which was ordered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the court was told the confessions could not be relied on because Mr Hall, who was 18 at the time and has since retracted his confession, was suffering from an "anti-social personality disorder". He was prone to exaggeration - once he confessed to a robbery which took place while he was on remand for another offence.

The prosecution's own psychiatric expert conceded that Mr Hall's admissions were "at risk of being unreliable". The hearing also raised questions about the conduct of South Wales Police, who were said by the CCRC to have shown a "systematic disregard" of interrogation rules under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

The court was told that Mr Hall was denied access to a solicitor during crucial parts of his interrogation, which included the period when he made his admissions, and was at times handcuffed to a radiator.

Yesterday, after hearing nine days of evidence, Lord Justice Roch said he and fellow judges Mr Justice Keene and Mr Justice Astill, would give a full judgement in the New Year.

After the ruling, Mr O'Brien and Mr Hall said they would be taking civil action against the South Wales Police. Citing a series of convictions involving the same force which had been overturned on appeal in recent years, Mr O'Brien claimed that there was evidence of "institutionalised corruption".

"The only way this is going to come out is to have a full, open public inquiry. If it takes me another 10 years I am going to do it. I am going to become South Wales Police's worst nightmare," Mr O'Brien said.

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