Man jailed after corrupt officer's evidence cleared 20 years after his death

Telegraph

17-07-2025

A man who was jailed on the basis of a corrupt police officer's evidence has had his name cleared 20 years after his death.
Errol Campbell, who died in 2004, had his convictions for theft and conspiracy to steal from a goods depot in south London quashed at the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
He was found guilty in April 1977 and sentenced at the Old Bailey to a total of 18 months imprisonment in relation to thefts from the Bricklayers Arms Goods Depot, where he was a British Rail employee.
The case against him was led by DS Derek Ridgewell, a discredited British Transport Police officer.
Giving his judgment on Thursday, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Butcher and Mr Justice Wall, said it was with 'regret' that the court could not undo Mr Campbell's suffering.
He added: 'We can however, and do, allow the appeal brought on his behalf and quash his conviction. We hope that will at least bring some comfort to Mr Campbell's family who survive.'
Lord Justice Holroyde said Campbell 'took the miscarriage of justice which he suffered and his wrongful convictions to his grave'. He continued: 'Mr Campbell Sr maintained his innocence for the rest of his life. He regarded himself, with justification, as a victim of racism.'
The Crown Prosecution Service did not oppose the appeal.
'Shadow over administration of justice'
Ridgewell led the case against Campbell and several others, but along with colleagues DC Douglas Ellis and DC Alan Keeling, later pleaded guilty to stealing from the same goods depot.
Campbell unsuccessfully appealed against his convictions in 1978. His son submitted an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in Sept 2024, with the help of the charity APPEAL.
Following a review, the CCRC found there was a real possibility that, like the convictions of 11 other people that have been referred to the court, Campbell's convictions would be quashed, and it referred the convictions in Feb 2025.
Henry Blaxland KC, representing Campbell, told the court it was dealing with victims of miscarriage of justice brought about by 'state crime'.
He added the case 'throws a shadow over the administration of justice and led to loss of confidence not only in the police, but in the legal system as a whole'.
Mr Blaxland also said the effect of the convictions of Campbell had been 'incalculable' and read a statement from his son, Errol Campbell Jr, to the court. Mr Campbell Jr said the first time his father had returned from the police station, 'he had bruises on him where he said he had been hit by the police'.
Mr Campbell Jr said he remembered helping to bathe his father after this, and that is something he will 'never forget'. He continued: 'He called it n----- hunting by the police.'
The court heard that after Campbell was released from prison he went to America to 'get away from his experience' and 'took up heavy drinking'. Mr Campbell Jr said in his statement: 'He was a ruined man.'
Reading a statement on his behalf outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Matt Foot, Mr Campbell Jr's solicitor, said: 'The British Transport Police knew that Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell was corrupt and they let him carry on regardless with what he was doing.
'My dad always said he was innocent and today that's finally been confirmed, almost 50 years later.
'He came to England in the Windrush generation and worked for years for British Rail. The conviction caused absolute misery to my dad and our family.
'Due to the shame and disgrace of this conviction, he found it difficult to get employment, so much so that he fled the country. On his return, he became an alcoholic and couldn't hold down a lollipop man's job.'
In August 2023 the CCRC referred the convictions of Campbell's co-defendants, Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin, after it tracked down their family members. The convictions were quashed in January last year.
In 1980, Ridgewell, Ellis and Keeling pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal from the Bricklayers Arms Depot. Ridgewell died in prison before he had completed his sentence.
In a previous judgment, the court found their criminal activities between January 1977 and April 1978 resulted in the loss from the depot of goods to the value of about £364,000 – 'an enormous sum of money at that time'.
Referring to the ruling in Mehmet and Peterkin's cases, Lord Justice Holroyde said fresh evidence as to the 'dishonesty' of the three British Transport Police officers had underpinned a series of CCRC references to the court.
Final member of 'Stockwell Six' cleared
Separately on Thursday, the Court of Appeal also quashed the conviction of Ronald De Souza, the final member of the 'Stockwell Six'.
The group of black men were accused of trying to rob Ridgewell, and were all arrested on the London Underground while on a night out on Feb 18 1972.
The CCRC referred De Souza's conviction for attempted robbery to the Court of Appeal after his co-defendants, Paul Green, Courtney Harriot, Cleveland Davidson and Texo Johnson, had their names cleared in 2021.
Lord Justice Holroyde said it was 'very regrettable that none of the cases in which defendants have been convicted in reliance of the evidence was reviewed by the British Transport Police'.
Quashing De Souza's convictions, he added: 'We regret that this court cannot now put right all that he has suffered. However, we can and do allow his appeal and quash his conviction.'
Charlie Doyle, the Assistant Chief Constable of British Transport Police, has said he is 'disgusted' by the actions of Ridgewell after the Court of Appeal quashed Campbell's conviction.
Mr Doyle said: 'We are sincerely sorry to those affected by the criminal actions of former BTP Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, whose appalling actions in the 1970s and 1980s led to the criminalisation of innocent people.
'We're continuing to review records relating to his corrupt practices, which includes those relating to officers who were associated with Det Sgt Ridgewell or may have assisted him in his criminal activity, and the review team has recently been provided with additional resources to support its work.
'I am disgusted by the actions of Derek Ridgewell, and while we know we can't change the past, his actions do not represent the BTP of today.
'We continue to actively pursue a criminal investigation into the actions of those involved and will present a file to the CPS for consideration once we have completed our enquiries.'