Parliamentarians to investigate forensic science

MPs and peers have launched an inquiry into the state of forensic science – amid concerns that mistakes are leading to innocent people being wrongly convicted.

The Westminster Commission on Forensic Science will question experts, lawyers, police investigators and victims of miscarriages of justice. It will set out its findings in a report, expected in 2024.

The inquiry will be co-chaired by Baroness Black of Strome, a forensic anthropologist and cross-bench peer, and Professor Angela Gallop, a leading forensic scientist. It has been established by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Miscarriages of Justice (APPGMJ), a group of parliamentarians with an interest in the area.

At the same time, the APPGMJ is establishing five sub-committees to focus its work on key areas of concern. As well as the sub-committee on science and the courts, which will oversee the Westminster Commission on Forensic Science, separate sub-committees will look at the criminal appeals system, legal policy, the legal profession, and the role of the media.

The Coalition government scrapped the state-owned Forensic Science Service in 2012 and police forces now do their own analysis or contract it out to private labs. A report by the Lords Science and Technology Committee in 2019 found that that forensic science was underfunded, with too little research being carried out, and that Legal Aid cuts meant defendants could not always hire their own experts to challenge prosecution forensic evidence.

Barry Sheerman, the Labour MP who co-chairs the APPGMJ, said: “Our reputation as the global gold standard for forensic sciences has been badly tarnished over the last decade. Today we launch an investigation into the state of the sector and we do that as a result of our concern that the innocent are being wrongly convicted. The Westminster Commission on Forensic Science will shine a light on the sector and how its ‘products’ are used, and make recommendations to drive up quality and reliability in this important but overlooked corner of the justice system.”

Sir Bob Neill, the Conservative MP who co-chairs the APPGMJ and also chairs the Commons Justice Committee, said that forensic science had been at the heart of notorious miscarriages of justice including the cases of the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four. He said: “The misapplication of forensic science can and often has resulted in the wrongful conviction for many years of the innocent. But pioneering forensic approaches can lead to wrongful convictions being overturned and justice restored.”

Members of the Westminster Commission on Forensic Science include Professor Carole McCartney of Leicester Law School; former detective chief superintendent Steve Wilkins; Katy Thorne KC; DNA expert Dr Philip Avenell; and Neil Denison, director of Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Scientific Support Services.